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NASA engineers using iPhone and Android apps to keep track of time on Mars
Here's the thing: if you're on Mars, you'll be counting time in the exact same way as you do on Earth. You'll have a 24-hour | NASA engineers using iPhone and Android apps to keep track of time on Mars
Here's the thing: if you're on Mars, you'll be counting time in the exact same way as you do on Earth. You'll have a 24-hour day-night cycle, each hour will be 60 minutes, and each minute will be 60 seconds long. However, since 24 hours here on Earth are nothing more than the time needed for Earth to make one full rotation around its own axis, the same 24 hours on Mars happen to take slightly longer, as the Red Planet tends to rotate around itself a bit more slowly. As a result, one full day-night cycle on Mars equals 24 hours and 39.5 Earth minutes.
Now, although some of the people working at NASA are equipped with custom-built quartz watches to be able to tell what's the exact time on Mars, it looks like others prefer to rely on their trusty iPhone or Android smartphones, using a third-party app called MarsClock. The became known after a Q&A session was held on Reddit, when someone brought up the question if the NASA employees are using those special Mars watches. Here's what Surface Systems Engineer, Eric Blood, answered:
"Some of us do, but a lot of us have iPhone and Android apps with Mars time."
Well, folks, you now know what you need to do if you want to know what time it is at Curiosity's.
2. Phullofphil (Posts: 792; Me |
What is in this article?:
- In 2007, the U.S. food system accounted for almost 16 percent of the nation’s energy budget.
- Between 1997 and 2002, over 80 percent of the increase | What is in this article?:
- In 2007, the U.S. food system accounted for almost 16 percent of the nation’s energy budget.
- Between 1997 and 2002, over 80 percent of the increase in annual U.S. energy consumption was food related.
- Population growth, higher per capita food expenditures, and greater reliance on energy-using technologies boosted food-related energy consumption.
Energy is used throughout the U.S. food system. From the manufacture and application of agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers and feed, to building and powering the machines that turn wheat into bread and hogs into bacon, to making and running the toaster and frying pan used by the consumer at home or by the short order cook at the diner, energy fuels the U.S. food system.
An ERS analysis of food system energy use indicates that, while total per capita U.S. energy consumption fell by 1 percent between 2002 and 2007, food-related per capita energy use grew nearly 8 percent as the food industry relied on more energy-intensive technologies to produce more food per capita for more people.
Examining U.S. food system energy use
Using a framework known as input-output material flow analysis, ERS researchers traced energy use by the U.S. food system, measuring the direct energy used to power machinery, as well as the “embodied” energy used in building and distributing the machinery. Thus, the fuel used to manufacture tractors and to run them on farms was measured. Likewise, the ERS analysis accounts for the electricity to power the microwave oven in the home and the energy used to build and distribute the appliance to consumers.
The input-output analysis framework also includes the energy embodied in other inputs to the food production and marketing system, such as fertilizers, shipping crates, and packaging materials. Energy flow analysis captures both direct and indirect energy flows of the entire food chain, from growing and processing the food, to grinding the plate scraps in a garbage disposal.
The two most recent U.S. benchmark input-output accounts from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) show that energy use by the U.S. food system grew at more than six times the rate of increase in total domestic energy use between 1997 and 2002. A projection of food-related energy use based on total U.S. energy consumption and food expenditures in 2007 and on the benchmark 2002 input-output accounts suggests that the U.S. food system accounted for 15.7 percent of total U.S. energy consumption in 2007, up from 14.4 percent in 2002.
Three factors drive increased energy use
For greater accuracy, ERS researchers used the survey-based benchmark input-output accounts from 1997 and 2002, rather than the 2007 projections, to discern the largest or fastest growing users of energy and the factors that sparked increased food-related energy use. Between 1997 and 2002, energy use in the U.S. food system grew from 11.5 quadrillion Btu (qBtu) to 14.1 qBtu (British thermal unit—a standard measure of thermal (heat) energy). This 2.6-qBtu increase accounted for over 80 percent of the rise in total U.S. energy use between 1997 and 2002.
Three factors were responsible for the jump in food-related energy use:
• Population growth accounted for 25 percent of the higher food-related energy use in 2002 versus 1997. The U.S. population grew by more than 14 million (5.1 percent) over the 5-year period. More mouths to feed means increased production of food and food-related items, ranging from fertilizers to frying pans, pushing energy used by the food system up by 0.64 qBtu.
• Higher food expenditures also boosted U.S. food system energy use by 25 percent. The amount of food marketed to U.S. consumers, measured in real (adjusted for inflation) dollars, increased 6.6 percent per capita between 1997 and 2002, according to BEA data. In 2002, the mix of commodities marketed to U.S. consumers included a greater proportion (in real dollar terms) of foods that used less energy, such as fresh produce and |
Safe schools: Every girl's right.
School violence (Demographic aspects)
Sex crimes (Demographic aspects)
Sexual harassment (Demographic aspects)
Intimidation (Demographic aspects)
Girls (Crimes against)
|Publication:||Name | Safe schools: Every girl's right.
School violence (Demographic aspects)
Sex crimes (Demographic aspects)
Sexual harassment (Demographic aspects)
Intimidation (Demographic aspects)
Girls (Crimes against)
|Publication:||Name: Sister Namibia Publisher: Sister Namibia Audience: Academic; General Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Social sciences; Women's issues/gender studies Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2008 Sister Namibia ISSN: 1026-9126|
|Issue:||Date: June, 2008 Source Volume: 20 Source Issue: 2|
|Topic:||NamedWork: Safe Schools: Every Girl's Right (Report) Event Code: 980 Legal issues & crime|
|Product:||Product Code: 9918960 Sexual Harassment|
|Organization:||Organization: Amnesty International|
|Geographic:||Geographic Scope: Namibia Geographic Code: 6NAMI Namibia|
On the eve of International Women's Day, Amnesty International
called on governments and school officials around the world to take
concrete action to end violence against girls, particularly inside
In their report, Safe Schools: Every Girl's Right, the organisation shows how violence in and around educational institutions remains pervasive. From Mexico to China, girls continuously face the risk of being sexually assaulted, harassed or intimidated on their way to school or once inside school premises.
Some girls suffer violence more than others. Particular groups, such as ethnic minorities, lesbians or girls with disabilities are at higher risk than their peers.
A 2006 study of schoolgirls in Malawi found that 50 percent of girls said they had been touched in a sexual manner without permission by either their teachers or a fellow student. Equally, a study in the USA found that 83 percent of girls in grades 8 to 11 (aged around 12 to 16) in public schools experienced some form of sexual harassment.
People interviewed by Amnesty International in Haiti agreed that violence was widespread in schools but was rarely reported |
to profit margins for most of the poultry industry (see Swayne and Sibartie in Chapter 4; Swayne, 2004).
Preventing Interspecies Transmission
The intersecting and sometimes conflicting interests of commerce and public health | to profit margins for most of the poultry industry (see Swayne and Sibartie in Chapter 4; Swayne, 2004).
Preventing Interspecies Transmission
The intersecting and sometimes conflicting interests of commerce and public health were also evident in discussions on preventing transmission of avian influenza from wild to domestic birds, and from poultry to domestic animals and humans (for transmission pathways between species, see Figure S-4). Because wild waterfowl can carry the influenza A virus without developing signs of infection, influenza cannot realistically be considered an
FIGURE S-4 The reservoir of influenza A viruses. The working hypothesis is that wild aquatic birds are the primordial reservoir of all influenza viruses for avian and mammalian species. Transmission of influenza has been demonstrated between pigs and humans and between chickens and humans but not between wild birds and humans (dotted lines). There is extensive evidence for transmission of influenza viruses between wild ducks and other species (solid lines). The five different host groups are based on phylogenetic analysis of the nucleoprotein genes of a large number of different influenza viruses. |
JUREMA ACTION PLANT
Photo by Katherine Cuningham, at the KABK preview exam, Hoop Gallery, Den Haag / NL 2011.
Exhibition Taming Technology, Florence (IT) 2011.
| JUREMA ACTION PLANT
Photo by Katherine Cuningham, at the KABK preview exam, Hoop Gallery, Den Haag / NL 2011.
Exhibition Taming Technology, Florence (IT) 2011.
Jurema Action Plant is an interactive bio-machine. It consists in a customized machine which interfaces a sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica).
Jurema Action Plant aims to empower plants by enabling them to use similar technologies as humans use. It is also explores new ways of communication and co-relation between humans, living organism and a machine. Much like humans, animals and machines, the plants have an electrical signal traveling inside them, but they do not have nerves like humans and animals; nor wires and cables like machines. This electrical signal travels inside the cells of the plant. Inspired by this phenomenon, I collaborated with professor Bert van Duijn from the Biology University and the Hortus Botanicus, both from Leiden, on a research into the Action Potential of this plant. At V2_, we settled upon a solution in which a signal amplifier reads the differences in the electromagnetic field around the plant to determine when it is being touched. These electromagnetic variation |
Parents always want to listen to the pediatrician when a child is sick. But what do the pediatricians want parents to hear when the goal is to keep children well?
That's the question we posed to three doctors - Dr. Joel B. | Parents always want to listen to the pediatrician when a child is sick. But what do the pediatricians want parents to hear when the goal is to keep children well?
That's the question we posed to three doctors - Dr. Joel B. Steinberg, professor of pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center and attending physician at Children's Medical Center Dallas; Dr. Chris Straughn, a pediatrician at Medical City Children's Hospital in Dallas; and Dr. David Goff, a pediatrician at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.
Here's what they said:
Pay attention to nutrition from the start
Childhood obesity is easier to prevent than it is to rectify, all three doctors agree. And it is one of the biggest threats to children's health today: This the first generation that is not on track to live as long as their parents.
Obesity is harmful on every level, increasing a child's chances of developing Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and even cancer.
Steinberg says 80 percent of kids younger than a year old regularly eat french fries - a food he'd like to see less of in children's diets along with macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, fried and other high-fat foods, and high-sugar drinks.
Straughn would also like to see parents eliminate high-fructose corn syrup from their children's diets.
The doctors all agree on the importance of exercise from the earliest possible age, which can mean playing in the park or ditching the stroller in favor of a walk. Straughn notes that a March study published in Pediatrics finds that children who eat meals regularly with their family, get adequate sleep and limit their television time to no more than two hours per day had a 40 percent reduction in obesity compared to kids who had none of these routines.
Don't be afraid of immunizations
The three doctors all express concerns that too many parents are forgoing lifesaving vaccines against measles, mumps, whooping cough, chickenpox, influenza and meningitis.
Steinberg respects the anxiety that some parents express about possible links between vaccines and autism, even though no such connections have been proven. He suggests discussing concerns with your child's pediatrician, who should be up to speed on the latest research. Steinberg says that because autism is typically diagnosed at 18 months, he will delay some vaccinations until age 2 if parents prefer. He will also stagger immunizations for parents concerned about too many immunizations given at once, or he will offer vaccines that do not have any preservatives.
If cost is an issue, Vaccines for Children, a Center for Disease Control and Prevention program (www.cdc.gov), will help make vaccines more affordable for Medicaid-eligible kids.
In addition, Straughn recommends a pertussis (whooping cough) booster for all parents and other adults who will be in contact with young infants.
Get enough vitamin D
Many children - and adults - need more vitamin D. People need to compensate for the diminished exposure current generations are getting to the sun, the doctors say; vitamin D is produced through the skin by exposure to sunlight.
Straughn notes that a vitamin D supplement is recommended for all breastfeeding infants, and a multivitamin containing vitamin D is recommended for all older kids. Check in with www.healthychildren.org, a parent-friendly website produced by the American Academy of Pediatricians, for the recommended doses.
Pay attention to developmental milestones
Even if you have a healthy child, don't skip scheduled doctor visits. Parents should also be checking in with their pediatrician, who should be up to date on the latest recommended schedule for their child's hearing, vision and dental exams.
Parents should also discuss their child's weight, height and body-mass index growth curve, and take steps if the child's growth curve is not healthy and diet corrections need to be made. Find out whether your child is meeting developmental milestones for walking, talking and socializing, too.
If problems are found, Early Childhood Intervention, a free, federally funded program administered by the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, can help. For more information, visit www.dars.state.tx.us.
Use a car seat and secure your home
Texas state law requires all children younger than 8 to be in a car safety seat or booster seat. Younger infants should stay in a rear-facing car seat as long as possible. Kids older than 4 and weighing more than 40 pounds can use a booster seat. Don't ever leave a child in a hot car.
Keep any guns in the home under lock and key. Put up a secure swimming-pool gate and do not let a child swim unattended. Keep household drugs, medicines, cleaning supplies and knives out of reach. When children start to move or crawl, it's important to remove coffee tables with sharp edges and breakable items that they can pull down from tables or shelves. More advice for raising healthy kids
Interact: Steinberg and Goff stress that children's development and language skills are enhanced by parents who read to them, t |
The Christian who labors in the field of science or science education does many things the same way that his secular counterpart does. To a great extent he uses and teaches the same facts and laws. His research equipment and instructional aids are much the same | The Christian who labors in the field of science or science education does many things the same way that his secular counterpart does. To a great extent he uses and teaches the same facts and laws. His research equipment and instructional aids are much the same. Where, then, does the difference lie? Ironically, a major distinction is the fact that the Christian is more consistently committed to the key ingredient of the scientific method—observation—than is his unregenerate counterpart. The latter is often prone to rely more heavily on human speculations than on the data themselves, especially when they are inimical to his evolutionary-humanistic beliefs. The Christian is specially motivated to be scrupulously honest in both the recording and the interpretation of his data, for he does his work as unto the Lord rather than unto men. Other distinctives have to do with certain erroneous beliefs and practices to which the Christian does not fall victim. These will be enumerated in the section on the limitations of science (p.9) and the section on the points of conflict with the secular philosophy of teaching science (p.12).
Practical application in the classroom
A discussion of the empirical method in a Christian classroom would differ markedly from its presentation in a secular school. It might proceed in the following manner.
Despite its frequent abuses and many limitations, the fact remains that, apart from divine revelation, the empirical approach (i.e., methodology based on observation and experiment) is the most reliable means available to man for gaining basic information about nature. Actually there are few alternatives—intuition, guesswork, extrapolation from known data, and prediction based on theory—all of which are demonstrably deficient in their reliability.
The so-called "scientific method" is nothing more than a sophisticated technique for finding answers to questions. There is no single set of procedures or standardized list of steps that constitutes the scientific method. There are probably as many variants of the method as there are researchers. All, however, would (or should in principle, at least) agree that observation is the key ingredient of the method. If a phenomenon cannot be observed, it cannot be dealt with scientifically. As creationists—those who hold that the universe was spoken into existence in substantially its present form by the miraculous acts of God described in Genesis 1 and 2—we contend for faithful adherence to the actual observations in every area of science. We oppose the trend of licentious theorizing that has invaded too many disciplines, much of which runs directly counter to the observations. In genetics the empirical data indicate that each organism breeds true, reproducing after its kind (Genesis 1:11, 12, 21, 24, 25). Yet theorists imaginatively postulate "molecules-to-man" evolution. In astronomy, only degenerative processes are observed in stars and interstellar clouds. Nevertheless, it is speculated that such clouds are capable of organizing themselves into stars, a suggestion that flies squarely in the face of three and a half centuries of telescopic observations. Regrettably, evolutionary theory has been exalted to the point where men trust it more than their own eyes.
Observations are made using one or more of the senses. As with any human activity, there is an element of fallibility involved in this operation. Optical illusions and other misinterpretations of sensory information are a definite possibility and must be carefully guarded against. To this end investigation involves numerous observations with as many different instruments and by as many independent observers as possible. In spite of these precautions, spurious observations do occasionally find their way into the scientific literature. A classic example of this was the so-called "canals of Mars," attested by many astronomers in various parts of the world. It is now realized that the "canals" were an optical illusion. Does this invalidate observation as an acceptable tool of science? Not at all, for when the error was corrected, it was done by again using observations. Space probes photographing the Martian surface from close range provided the detail and clarity that had been unobtainable with earth-based telescopes. As can be readily seen, data vary widely in the error they contain.
The use of observation is not without biblical endorsement. Under Old Testament law the testimony of two or three witnesses was sufficient to condemn a defendant to death (Deuteronomy 17:6). This quite obviously placed a heavy premium on sense-derived information. In the New Testament the Lord invited Thomas to both see and feel the nail prints in His hands (John 20:27). As a result of what he observed, Thomas was instantly convinced that he was in the presence of the crucified Lord. The early Christians argued the truth of the Resurrection from empirical evidence: the experience of more than five hundred witnesses (I Corinthians 15:3-8). John commends the message of his First Epistle on empirical grounds: "That which was from the begin |
Do you have Candida? Find out with this quick in-home screening.
Candida is a type of yeast that is naturally found throughout the body. It can be found in the regular flora of the skin, mouth, intestinal track, rect | Do you have Candida? Find out with this quick in-home screening.
Candida is a type of yeast that is naturally found throughout the body. It can be found in the regular flora of the skin, mouth, intestinal track, rectum and vagina. Although Candida is found naturally throughout the body, it can cause problems if there is an overgrowth. Antibiotic use and not properly replenishing the gut afterwards, poor diet, stress and poor digestion can cause an overgrowth of yeast.
Symptoms can range from:
- Stomach pains
- Digestive problems
- Skin rashes (eczema, psoriasis & acne)
- Foggy brain
- Itchy skin
- Cravings for sweets
Candida thrives in an acidic environment and therefore a diet that promotes an alkaline environment is best click here to read about foods to avoid on a Candida Diet. You should also know that Candida typically is not seen alone, meaning that if one has Candida issues then parasites, food sensitivities, adrenal fatigue and liver toxicity are also problems and can be ruled out with our in-home test kits.
If you suspect or are curious that you might be suffering from a Candida issue here is a quick in-home screening process to check and see if this yeast might be infecting you. Remember this is ONLY a screening and if you suspect that might have a yeast problem please call our offices to set up an appointment for more thorough testing.
In-home Candida Screening Test:
- Perform this test first thing in the morning before you put anything else in your mouth.
- Grab a clear glass and fill with water
- Work up some saliva and then spit into the glass of water
- Check the water after a moment or 2-3 minutes and then every 15 minutes up until 1 hour
Results of a positive screen:
- Strings, like cloudy legs moving down into the water or
- Cloudy saliva that will sink to the bottom of the glass
- Call our offices for testing
Results of a negative screen:
- Water is clear, no strings and saliva is sitting on top of the water
Candida thrives off of sugar and therefore needs to be eliminated from the diet in order to starve the yeast. An alkaline environment also needs to be created so here are foods to avoid while on a Candida Diet.
- Avoid all sweets & processed foods (any food that has a shelf life)
- Avoid fruits (fresh or dried) & fruit juices
- Avoid all grains & pasta
- Avoid alcohol
- Avoid all dairy products
Foods to consume:
- Fruits allowed are all kinds of berries, grapefruit, pineapple and papaya and still should only make up 5% of diet
- Proteins: only from organic sources- non-organic meats contain antibiotics
- Vegetables – above ground are best because they contain less sugar
- Best Vegetables to consume: broccoli, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, asparagus, onions, garlic & ginger
We hope you found this newsletter informative and we welcome any questions that you might have.
In Health & Happiness
Lori & Dorothy
Picture by: http://overcomingcandida.com/images/candida_gallery/candida_micro.jpg |
Gender, pair composition and computer versus paper presentations of an English language task
Keogh, T., Barnes, P., Joiner, R. and Littleton, K., 2000. Gender, pair composition and computer versus paper presentations of | Gender, pair composition and computer versus paper presentations of an English language task
Keogh, T., Barnes, P., Joiner, R. and Littleton, K., 2000. Gender, pair composition and computer versus paper presentations of an English language task. Educational Psychology, 20 (1), pp. 33-43.
|
Fort Ridgely and the settlement of the Minnesota River Valley, 1853-1867
This dissertation studies the influence of the military on white settlement in the Minnesota River Valley. In 1853, Fort Ridgely was established to | Fort Ridgely and the settlement of the Minnesota River Valley, 1853-1867
This dissertation studies the influence of the military on white settlement in the Minnesota River Valley. In 1853, Fort Ridgely was established to oversee the Santee Dakota on their nearby reservations, keep the peace between settlers and Native Americans, and uphold federal treaty obligations. In performing these duties, the soldiers at the fort impacted the development and settlement of the valley. In a short period of time, the presence of the army helped transform the valley from a "frontier," inhabited by the Santee, to a "civilized" region, dominated by white settlers. The physical needs of the army encouraged the development of roads and increased steamboat traffic on the Minnesota River. Farmers and businessmen prospered economically by selling livestock, crops and goods to the fort. Civilians benefitted from the medical care, school, church and other services available at the post. Finally, many settlers moved into the valley because they believed the fort made the area "safe." The history of Fort Ridgely is primarily one of the military' s involvement with the Santee and the reservations. Soldiers attempted to keep settlers off Indian lands, stop alcohol smugglers and assist Indian agents in the performance of their duties. Although part of a society that regarded Native Americans as inferior, officers tried to enforce the terms of the treaties and often sympathized with the Santee and their problems. In return, Santee leaders, in their struggle to protect their people from white settlers and Indian agents, saw the army as a possible ally. The coming of the Civil War brought changes to the valley. Regular soldiers, stationed at the fort, were replaced by volunteer soldiers. These volunteers were soon fighting an Indian uprising. After years of abuse, hunger and oppressive reservation conditions, the Santee fought back. Within a year, they were defeated and driven from the valley. The Santee removal impacted the further existence of Fort Ridgely. Without reservations to oversee and with the valley occupied by white settlers, the army had little reason to remain. In 1867, Fort Ridgely closed; the soldiers stationed there moved westward to a new frontier region.
Paul Norman Beck,
"Fort Ridgely and the settlement of the Minnesota River Valley, 1853-1867"
(January 1, 1996).
Dissertations (1962 - 2010) Access via Proquest Digital Dissertations. |
Rates Of Secondhand Smoke Exposure High Among College Students
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is not only a nuisance, but a potential health concern for many college students, and administrators should be taking steps to reduce students’ exposure, according to a | Rates Of Secondhand Smoke Exposure High Among College Students
Secondhand smoke (SHS) is not only a nuisance, but a potential health concern for many college students, and administrators should be taking steps to reduce students’ exposure, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
It is the first study to provide evidence of the high rates of SHS exposure, and correlates of exposure, among college students in the United States.
Funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the study can be found online today and will appear in the July 23 issue of Nicotine & Tobacco Research, a publication of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
“It is well-known that there are some serious health issues surrounding secondhand smoke,” said Mark Wolfson, Ph.D., lead author on the study, professor and section head for the Section on Society and Health in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy. “While some college campuses are smoke free, others have virtually no restrictions on smoking, not even in the residence halls. There is a growing national movement to move away from that, but it still very much varies by campus. In this first study to evaluate SHS exposure among college students, we were really kind of floored to see how many, and how frequently, students are exposed to it.”
For the study, researchers surveyed 4,223 undergraduate college students from 10 North Carolina universities ““ eight public and two private. They were asked questions about their drinking and smoking habits, demographics (age, gender, race, parents’ education level), lifestyle (residence on- or off-campus, living in a substance-free dormitory, pa |
Could drought and a court case stop water deliveries to the Salton Sea?
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has an unenviable job in a wet year, but in prolonged periods of drought, the task of managing the Colorado River is | Could drought and a court case stop water deliveries to the Salton Sea?
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has an unenviable job in a wet year, but in prolonged periods of drought, the task of managing the Colorado River is even harder. The agency is in charge of balancing the water levels in the country’s two largest reservoirs, the serpentine desert lakes called Powell and Mead. Seven Western states depend on water from the Colorado for everything from showering to growing lettuce, and keeping the reservoirs at the proper level makes sure everyone gets their legal share – that is, until drought complicates things.
Fourteen years of drought exacerbated by a dry spring and an even drier July prompted the Bureau of Reclamation to do something it’s never done before: release less water from Lake Powell. That means water levels at Lake Mead, 250 miles downstream of Powell, will continue to drop, threatening to render one of two intake pumps inoperable and leaving Las Vegas with only one source of water and no backup.
Unlike many major cities in the Southwest that supplement Colorado River water with groundwater, Las Vegas depends almost entirely on the river. And according to a 2007 Colorado River water agreement, Arizona and Nevada would be the first to feel the effects of an official shortage declaration – when Reclamation would deliver less water to users in those states than normal – while California would not be affected. Reclamation's Lower Colorado River Director Terry Fulp says a shortage could occur as soon as 2016.
So it’s easy to see why water managers in Southern Nevada are trying everything they can think of to get more water into Lake Mead, including going after a meager 10,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water from a wildlife refuge on Southern California’s Salton Sea. Just days after Reclamation announced its water cuts on the Colorado, the Southern Nevada Water Authority sent a letter to the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge accusing its managers of illegally using Colorado River water to maintain wetlands and grow food for migrating birds.
The Salton Sea is a strange place. Created by accident in 1905 by a blowout in an irrigation canal, the 381-square-mile lake became an important migratory stop-over and nesting site for many species of birds, including the endangered Yuma clapper rail. In 1930, President Hoover recognized the ecological importance of the sea by declaring portions of it a national wildlife refuge. Now, due to water efficiency measures on farms in the Imperial Valley and rural-to-urban water transfers, the sea is drying up, risking the health of both birds and people, who could choke on toxi |
What is World AIDS Day?
World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World | What is World AIDS Day?
World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.
Why is World AIDS Day important?
Around 1.5 million are currently living with HIV in the U.S. and globally an estimated 34 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.
Today, many scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. But despite this, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others from HIV, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with HIV. World AIDS Day is important as it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.
What should I do on World AIDS Day?
World AIDS Day is an opportunity for you to learn the facts about HIV and put your knowledge into action. Find out how much you know by taking our online quiz: Are you HIV aware? Test your knowledge and awareness by taking the quiz and act aware by passing the quiz on and sharing it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook.
If you understand how HIV is transmitted, how it can be prevented, and the reality of living with HIV today – you can use this knowledge to take care of your own health and the health of others, and ensure you treat everyone living with HIV fairly, and with respect and understanding. Click here to find out the facts.
You can also show your support for people living with HIV on World AIDS Day by wearing a red ribbon, the international symbol of HIV awareness and support.
World AIDS Day is also a great opportunity to raise money for NAT (National AIDS Trust) and show your support for people living with HIV. If you feel inspired to hold an event, bake sale or simply sell red ribbons, click here to get started. If you’d like to see what other events are taking place — click here and find out more.
But what about after World AIDS Day?
Although World AIDS Day is a great opportunity to get the public talking about HIV and fundraise, we need to remember the importance of raising awareness of HIV all year round. That’s why NAT has launched HIVaware — a fun, interactive website which provides all the information everyone should know about HIV. Why not use what you have learnt on World AIDS Day to Act Aware throughout the year and remember, you can fundraise at any time of year too — NAT is always here to give you suggestions and ideas.
Penny DeNoble and The Issue of Blood Outreach Recognized in POZ Magazine, as “POZ 100 Unsung Heroes”, November 2013 Edition
Planning Council and Community Members:
I am very honored to send out this email notice to recognize the work of our very own DHRPC member Penny DeNoble!
For this year’s POZ 100, we asked individuals and organizations like you to nominate an HIV-positive person in their community who is an unsung hero in the fight against AIDS. The individuals on this year’s list may not consider themselves to be heroes, but we do. Each person—in his or her own way—is taking a brave stand against the virus. They are fighting back. They do so, not because they’re seeking glory or accolades, but because fighting back is a means to their survival.
Congrats to Denver’s Penny DeNoble!!!!
Founder and Director
The Issue of Blood
Positive since 1986
Penny DeNoble has been an educator, community activist and HIV advocate for 15 years. Her organization, The Issue of Blood, is an outreach and consulting service that aims to bring awareness, education and informati |
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
kom-pash'-un: Compassion is the translation of racham, "to love," "pity," "be merciful" (Deuteronomy 13:17; Deuteronomy 30: | International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
kom-pash'-un: Compassion is the translation of racham, "to love," "pity," "be merciful" (Deuteronomy 13:17; Deuteronomy 30:3); of rachamim, "mercies" (1 Kings 8:50); of chamal, "to pity," "spare" (Exodus 2:6 1 Samuel 23:21); rachum (Psalm 78:38; Psalm 86:15; Psalm 111:4; 112:04:00; 145:8), is rendered by the American Standard Revised Version "merciful." We have splagchnizomai, "to have the bowels yearning," in Matthew 9:36; Matthew 14:14, etc.; sumpatheo (Hebrews 10:34), "to suffer with (another)"; sumpathes (1 Peter 3:8, the Revised Version (British and American) "compassionate," margin, Greek, "sympathetic"); metriopatheo (Hebrews 5:2, the Revised Version (British and American) "who can bear gently with"); eleeo, "to show mildness," "kindness" (Matthew 18:33 Mark 5:19 Jude 1:22, the Revised Version (British and American) "mercy"); oikteiro, "to have pity" or "mercy" (Romans 9:15 bis).
Both racham and splagchnizomai are examples of the physical origin of spiritual terms, the bowels being regarded as the seat of the warm, tender emotions or feelings. But, while racham applied to the lower viscera as well as the higher, splagchnon denoted chiefly the higher viscera, the heart, lungs, liver.
The Revised Version (British and American) gives "compassion" for "mercy" (Isaiah 9:17; Isaiah 14:1; Isaiah 27:11; Isaiah 49:13 Jeremiah 13:14; Jeremiah 30:18 Daniel 1:9 the King James Version "tender love with"; for "bowels of compassion," 1 John 3:17); for "mercy" (Hebrews 10:28); "full of compassion" for "merciful" (the American Standard Revised Version "merciful" in all cases) (Exodus 34:6 Nehemiah 9:17 Psalm 103:8 Joel 2:13 Jonah 4:2); "compassions for mercies" (Isaiah 63:15 Philippians 2:1), for "repentings" (Hosea 11:8).
Compassion, literally a feeling with and for others, is a fundamental and distinctive quality of the Biblical conception of God, and to its prominence the wor |
John Dalton (1766-1844) is the scientist credited for proposing the atomic theory. This theory explains several concepts that are relevant in our world today. This includes what a pure gold necklace is made of, what makes the pure gold necklace | John Dalton (1766-1844) is the scientist credited for proposing the atomic theory. This theory explains several concepts that are relevant in our world today. This includes what a pure gold necklace is made of, what makes the pure gold necklace different than a pure silver necklace, and what occurs when pure gold is mixed with copper. After reading this text you will know the answers to all of those questions. Before discussing the Atomic Theory we will explain the theories that Dalton used as a basis for his theory: the law of conservation of mass and the law of constant composition.
The law of conservation of mass states that the total mass present before a chemical reaction is the same as the total mass present after the chemical reaction; thus, mass is conserved. The law of conservation of mass was formulated by Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794). This law was a result of his combustion experiment where he observed that the mass of his original substance –a glass vessel, tin, and the air in the sealed vessel- was equal to the mass of the produced substance- the glass vessel, “tin calx”, and the remaining air.
Historically, this was a difficult concept for scientists to grasp. If this law was true then how was it that a large piece of wood was reduced to a small pile of ashes. Obviously the wood has a greater mass than the ashes. From this observation scientists concluded that mass had been lost. However, the illustration below depicts the fact that the burning of word does follow the law of conservation of mass. Scientists did not take into account the gases that play a critical role in this reaction.
Figure 1: Image of the wood courtesy of Ehamberg and Stannered on Wikimedia Commons,
available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license. Image of ashes courtesy of Walter Siegmund under the creative
commons-share alike 3.0 unported license. Figure one as a whole constructed by Jessica Thornton using Microsft word and Preview (UCD).
Joseph Proust (1754-1826) came up with the law of constant composition (also called the law of definite proportions). This law states that if a compound is broken down into its constituent elements, the masses of the constituents will always have the same proportions, regardless of the quantity or source of the original substance. Joseph Proust based this law primarily on his experiments with basic copper carbonate. The illustration below depicts this law; 31 grams of H2O and 8 grams of H2O are made up of the same percent of Hydrogen and Oxygen.
Figure 2: Constructed by Jessica Thornton (UCD)
1. Each chemical element is composed of extremely small particles that are indivisible and cannot be seen by the naked eye, called atoms. Atoms can neither be created nor destroyed. Pictured below is a Helium atom. The purple and red dots represent the neutrons and protons in the nucleus. The black area around the nucleus represent the electron cloud. In the following sections we will discussion this further.
Figure 3: Courtesy of Yzmo on Wikimedia commons, available under Creative Commons-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
2. All atoms of an element are alike in mass (weight) and other properties, but the atoms of one element differ from all other elements. For example, gold and silver have differnt atomic masses and differnt properties.
Atomic Mass: 196.97 Atomic Mass: 107.87
Figure 4 (Gold): Courtesy of Chris Ralph that released this image into the public domain.
Figure 5 (silver): Courtesy of http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/subcommittees/emr/usgsweb/photogallery/
3. For each compound, different elements combine in a simple numerical ratio. The illustration below describes this rule. The second equation for the reaction is incorrect because their cannot be half of an atom.
Figure 6: Created by Jessica Thornton
We can use the atomic theory to answers the questions presented above. A pure gold necklace is made up of atoms. A pure gold necklace and a pure silver necklace are different because they have different atoms. When we mix pure gold with pure copper we get rose gold. This is simply the gold and copper combining in a simple numerical ratio.
Dalton's theory has not proven to be one hundred percent correct. The first rule was proven to be incorrect when scientist were able to divide atoms in a process called nuclear fission. The second rule was proven to be incorrect by the discovery that not all atoms of the same element have the same mass, there are isotopes. However, these failures should not cause us to throw away the atomic theory. It correctly explains the law of conservation of mass: if atoms of an element are indestructible, then the same atom must be present after a chemical reaction as before and their mass remains constant. Dalton’s atomic theory also explains the law of constant composition: if all the atoms of an element are alike in mass and if atoms unite in fixed numerical ratios, the percent composition of a compound must have a unique value without regards to the sample analyzed. The atomic theory led to the creation of the law of multiple proportions.
The law of multiple proportions states that if two elements form more than one compound between them, the masses of one element combined with a fixed mass of the second element form in ratios o |
AI – Intelligence, Intelligence Agents & Key Areas of AI ResearchEdit
Humans throughout history appear to have attempted to recreate themselves in some form of artificial person. In fact, the earliest examples may be heralded from the Greek Gods and the “intel | AI – Intelligence, Intelligence Agents & Key Areas of AI ResearchEdit
Humans throughout history appear to have attempted to recreate themselves in some form of artificial person. In fact, the earliest examples may be heralded from the Greek Gods and the “intellectual roots of AI, and the concept of intelligent machines, may be found in Greek mythology” (http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/html/history.html Retrieved Dec 7, 2006). For a more comprehensive look at, but still brief history of AI, one can consult a chronology of significant events by Bruce G. Buchanan (http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/bbhist.html Retrieved Dec 7, 2006).
AI or Artificial Intelligence is a huge field of study with many subfields, but the main “underlying theme is the idea of an intelligent agents …” which are considered to be “systems that can decide what to do and then do it” (http://aima.cs.berkeley.edu/preface.html Retrieved Dec 7, 2006). Intelligent agents are “… a form of software with built-in intelligence that monitors work patterns, asks questions, and performs work tasks on your behalf” (Williams & Sawyer, 2007, Using Information Technology: A Practical Introduction to Computers & Communications, Montreal: McGraw-Hill Irwin, p. 442). Therefore, it is not uncommon to encounter references in AI literature about aspects of trying to achieve “intelligence” or making machines “intelligent,” especially in the computer world where attempts are made to make intelligent computer programs or to use computers to understand human intelligence. So, “intelligence is the computational part of the ability to achieve goals in the world, [but there exists] varying kinds and degrees of intelligence [that] occur in people, many animals and some machines,” so the whole idea of AI is extremely complex – as are humans themselves (http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/whatisai.html Retrieved 7, 2006).
But it is generally considered a possibility that human intelligence is attainable, especially after the advent of modern computers following World War II which made it “… possible to create programs that perform difficult intelligent tasks … “ and in combination with “general purpose methods and tools … [which] allow similar tasks to be performed” (http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/html/history.html Retrieved Dec 7, 2006). In fact, for many of us, we are oblivious to how much AI is already a big part of our everyday life. Some of applications already in existence can be found at http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/html/applications.html (Retrieved Dec 7, 2006). The next time that annoying little Microsoft Office Assistant gets in your face, believe that AI is at work for you.
There are many areas involved in AI research, but some key ones to note are: knowledge acquisition and knowledge base development, knowledge representation and reasoning, machine learning or computational approach to learning, robotics or application of artificial intelligence techniques, and computer vision based on sensed images (http://www.ai.cse.unsw.edu.au/ Retrieved Dec 7, 2006). Likewise, there are different research areas. Two main and interconnected lines of research include one that is “biological” in nature and the other that is “phenomenal.” The former stems from the basic premise that humans are intelligent so AI should be involved in the “… study of humans and attempt to imitate their psychology and physiology,” while the latter is primarily focused on the world and the view that research needs to be “… based on studying and formalizing common sense facts about the world and the problems [it] … presents to the achievement of goals” (http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/node4.html Retrieved Dec 7, 2006).
No doubt there is a need for both streams and a great deal of collaboration between them. We can revisit the definition of AI see that, in fact, “… artificial intelligence (AI) [is] are group of related technologies used for developing machines to emulate human quali |
|Identify the TITLE OR DESCRIPTION OF
ONE PHOTO HERE: ______________________________
(write on back if space is needed)
A. WHAT? How is the primary visual impact produced?
What is the main thing you notice. Use description.
B, | |Identify the TITLE OR DESCRIPTION OF
ONE PHOTO HERE: ______________________________
(write on back if space is needed)
A. WHAT? How is the primary visual impact produced?
What is the main thing you notice. Use description.
B, 1. What are subject matter and image reasons
for the primary impact?
B, 2. What are FORMAL design reasons for
the primary visual impact? What are the main formal causes of this
effect(s)? How do lines, shapes, tones, volumes, textures, patterns,
sizes, and their interactions effect the viewer's response? What
about the relationships, repetitions, and placements of the elements? Analyze
cause and effect. How? Why?
C, 1. WHY? Speculate about the intentions
of the photographer. Why would this photo be made? How
would it be used?
C, 2. Why do you think so? What is it about
the photo that gives this idea? Site the evidence.
What do you see as the most innovative and creative aspects
of the photo?
Interpret meanings and symbolism you can speculate about.
1. What are your questions about the light quality?
(Light direction and quality--not exposure)
2. What are your questions about camera angle?
3. What are your questions about framing and
4. What are your questions about depth of field
5. What are your questions about contrast?
6. What are your comments or questions about print
tone? (Would you print lighter or darker)
7. What are your comments or questions about the
need to burn in or dodge parts?
8. What are your questions about blemishes (stains,
9. What are your questions about mounting and presentation?
10. Any other comment or question? |
Cambridge, UK, January 19, 2001 - Kaspersky Lab, an international data-security software-development company, reports the discovery of a new Internet-worm that attacks computers with the Red Hat Linux operating system installed.
As was | Cambridge, UK, January 19, 2001 - Kaspersky Lab, an international data-security software-development company, reports the discovery of a new Internet-worm that attacks computers with the Red Hat Linux operating system installed.
As was emphasized in the latest virus advisory regarding the "Davinia" worm dated January 16th, one of the modern trends in malicious code development often has virus writers using known breaches in security systems of different platforms and applications. The recently detected "Ramen" worm is yet another confirmation of this trend; however, this time the victim is the Linux operating system, which is considered to be one of the most protected platforms available today.
To penetrate computers with Red Hat Linux 6.2 or 7.0 installed, "Ramen" exploits three security breaches named "in.ftpd", "rpc.statd" and "LPRng", which were detected and closed in June--September 2000. All of these breaches are from the "Buffer Overflow" category, and allow a malefactor to send a remote system an executable code and run it without the user's permission. The way the worm works is rather sophisticated: firstly, a target computer receives data that overflows the system's internal buffer so the worm's code obtains the root privileges and starts the command processor that executes the worm's instructions. Then "Ramen" creates the "/usr/src/.poop" folder, launches the "lynx" Internet browser, and downloads the worm's archive "RAMEN.TGZ" there from a remote computer. After this, "Ramen" opens the archive and executes its main file, "START.SH". The worm has no additional payload except for changing the content of "INDEX.HTML" files found on the system. When the affected HTML files are run, they display the following message:
"It is important to emphasize that the breaches exploited by the 'Ramen' worm are also found on other Linux distributors, such as Caldera OpenLinux, Connectiva Linux, Debian Linux, HP-UX, Slackware Linux and others. This particular worm is triggered to activate only on systems running Read Hat Linux. However, it is possible that we shall see other future modifications of 'Ramen' that will successfully operate on other Linux platforms," Said Denis Zenkin, Head of Corporate Communications for Kaspersky Lab. "Therefore, we recommend immediately installing patches for these breaches regardless of the Linux distributor you use."
More details about the "Ramen" Internet-worm can be found in Kaspersky's Virus Encyclopedia (www.viruslist.com).
Although Kaspersky Lab has received no reports of this worm to be found "in-the-wild" to date, we recommend users download the daily update for the Kaspersky Anti-Virus (AVP) database containing protection against the "Ramen" worm.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus can be purchased in Kaspersky Lab online store. |
In checking the weather every day, many look outside to see if the sun is shining. But how much thought is given over all the ways this distant star makes life possible on planet Earth and its pervasiveness in culture?
In Chasing the | In checking the weather every day, many look outside to see if the sun is shining. But how much thought is given over all the ways this distant star makes life possible on planet Earth and its pervasiveness in culture?
In Chasing the Sun: The Epic Story of the Star That Gives Us Life, Richard Cohen traces the story of the sun and how it has been used and viewed throughout recorded time. The sun has been the object of many myths all over the world. Solstices and equinoxes have had celebrations as people recognize how the sun influences the changing of the seasons. Some of these events take places in structures such as Stonehenge in England where the sun shines through the center of the monument on only one day a year. Ancient people feared solar eclipses as they saw them as portents of doom. Over time, humans have worked out when eclipses would happen so they came to be expected events.
Cohen provides a history of astronomy and how knowledge of the sun has evolved. Every civilization from Egyptian, Greek, Chinese, Islamic and up to the present day have demonstrated how the earth and sun are connected. Galileo became famous for his dispute with the Roman Catholic Church about the earth orbiting the sun even though others had said the same thing. Some astronomers have studied sunspots and learned of their effect on weather and even on satellite technology. Debate has also focused on the energy of the sun and how or if climate change and global warming are tied into our closest star. In recent years as well, solar wind has been studied to see its effects. Many places are using its renewable energy in an attempt to lessen dependence on fossil fuels. With the distance and temperature of the sun, scientists expect to keep expanding what is known about this source of light.
More ways the sun sustains us: Photosynthesis, where plants convert light into oxygen, makes it possible for food sources to grow to sustain human life. This process is even carried out in the deepest parts of the ocean to benefit sea creatures that have yet to be discovered. Vitamin D helps people to be healthy and its primary source is the sun.
This orb has been used to measure time. This has led to the establishment of the 24-hour day, time zones, and the calendar – calculations all based on the sun. This star has also inspired countless works of art, literary endeavors, musical scores, and photography. Its imagery can be found on flags such as Japan. Louis XIV of France titled himself the Sun King.
Scientists tend to agree that the death of the sun is certain though it is millions of years away. The sun will become a red giant and burn itself out. Before that happens, humans will need to find another home in the universe. The Sun unites human beings in their fascination of this star. This obsession will continue as long as people and the sun survive.
This is a very comprehensive work on the sun. I enjoyed reading about all the ways it impacts life on earth. I know that I feel better on a sunny day, especially in winter! I was also fascinated in how this star has been viewed through history and in the arts. It makes me appreciate all the more this important source of life and its impact on daily life.
Audio: Richard Cohen reads from Chasing the Sun (Vanity Fair)
About the Author
Judy Klamm is a reference librarian in Central Reference. She has written book reviews for Library Journal and various Presbyterian publications. |
I am a firm believer that asking teachers to do more with technology is the wrong approach to renewal, unless you are removing old habits, old methods and genuinely improving outcomes. In sessions I run for teachers, I believe that it’s more effective to | I am a firm believer that asking teachers to do more with technology is the wrong approach to renewal, unless you are removing old habits, old methods and genuinely improving outcomes. In sessions I run for teachers, I believe that it’s more effective to change the culture and narrow the participation gap between autonomous and co-operative learning. By establishing a few simple norms – for spectacular results – especially in 1:1 technology situations. To achieve this, I’m proposing 3 tools, and dropping some old approaches to get a performance gain.
1. Use reflective, self-reporting activities
The internet is a complex and diverse environment – simplify it for students. Use technologies that accurately reflect classroom activity and narrow the gap between what you want them to do and what they actually do – and save a heap of wasted or off task time. Diigo is the tool for this. Use it to model resources for students (lists); ask them to justify their own explorations (bookmark); and reflect on group learning (forums). Diigo is not a bookmarking tool! – It’s a learning management system and should be central to online learning.
2. Students must believe their choices and opinions matter
Probing questions in online spaces, allow teachers to discover student opinions; use a weekly question in your Diigo forum to ask them a probing question that allows them to express their feelings. Encourage participation by engaging in socio-centric conversation with students in the online space – as an aside from the rigor of the syllabus routine.
3. This week matters, because there’s another one following it.
Use TodaysMeet to create a simple question and answer page that expires after a week. Let them know that information is not persistent; but needs application to become knowledge. Encourage them to take turns in using it for passing notes and asking questions. Allow them to answer them and then at the end of the week, ask them to write a weekly journal entry – by asking a driving/probing question. Students are often poor a daily journal writing (you just get recounts) – make each week a process of leveling up to a Friday summit question. Base your assessments on summit questions.
4. Make authentic connections
Bring external voices to your classroom via technology, even if it as simple as using Google Chat, or finding a voice from YouTube. Locate an authentic dimension to problems. One great way to do this is to find your schools entry on Wikipedia – and make it better!
5. Build Vocabulary Bank
Each week a student is asked to find one word that relates to the week learning. Make one page in PBWorks, and ask them to add to it – alphabetically.
• They have to give the meaning and how it relates to the discipline.
• They should locate a web-reference of this being applied
These two actions provide continuous formative assessment of their ability to learn, comprehend and apply – digitally and conventionally.
What does this do for learning and engagement?
These 5 things, as a norm, repeated over a semester, promote socio-disciplinary learning. For the teacher it represents a very small change to promote the read write process in their learning and welcome students with a positive approach to learning with technology. Students will begin to select when and how best to use these spaces and replace some of the tiresome activities of writing in Word, printing it out, collecting it or transferring it to flash memory or via email. Rather than think about ‘new’ ways, this appraoch blends existing, successful practices that allow technology to augment learning, keep students on task, be accountable, and interested in working online – though teacher facilitation and communication in those spaces. Doing this over and over, insisting and persisting; will create that norm – and may take several weeks to embed in student behaviour. Don’t fall into the trap that many another technology might work better – after all for the last decade, students have used little more than office automation and Google Search. Give them and yourself time to adjust and to be confident. |
Radar View of Layering near Mars' North Pole, Orbit 1512
A radargram from the Shallow Subsurface Radar instrument (SHARAD) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals detailed structure in the polar layered | Radar View of Layering near Mars' North Pole, Orbit 1512
A radargram from the Shallow Subsurface Radar instrument (SHARAD) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveals detailed structure in the polar layered deposits of Mars' north pole. The layering is a manifestation of the recent climate history of Mars as recorded in the deposition and removal of ice and dust.
The horizontal scale of the radargram is distance along the orbiter's ground track, which is about 180 kilometers (110 miles). The vertical scale is time delay of radar signals reflected back to the spacecraft from the surface and subsurface. The color scale varies from black for weak reflections to yellow for strong reflections.
Subsurface layering evident in the radargram is divided into a finely structured upper unit about 600 meters (2,000 feet) thick, and a less well defined set of layers in a lower unit. The base of the entire stack of layers is marked by a very diffuse, bright reflection whose maximum depth is about 2,000 meters (6,600 feet).
The sounding radar collected the data presented here during orbit 1512 of the mission, on Nov. 22, 2006.
The Shallow Subsurface Radar was provided by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Its operations are led by the University of Rome and its data are analyzed by a joint U.S.-Italian science team. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/University of Rome/Washington University in St. Louis/MSSS
+ High resolution TIFF (1.41mb)
+ Full resolution |
Accidents happen, both to us and our possessions. We cannot prevent every mishap, but we can prepare for the worst. Smartphones can be used anywhere and everywhere, and because of this their exposure to unsafe environments is higher than other products | Accidents happen, both to us and our possessions. We cannot prevent every mishap, but we can prepare for the worst. Smartphones can be used anywhere and everywhere, and because of this their exposure to unsafe environments is higher than other products. When you invest in your new smartphone, how can you be sure that it is strong enough for the wear and tear of daily life? You might wonder how durable our smartphones are. With this in mind, we would like to share this video of Samsung GALAXY S4 reliability testing.
For the ‘consecutive drop test’, the GALAXY S4 is dropped hundreds of time on a hard metal floor. After the dropping test, the GALAXY S4 must work both externally and functionally.
To prepare for those occasional longer drops, a ‘free-fall test’ has been developed. Even though such occurrences are rare, the results can be devastating to a high-tech piece of equipment, and the GALAXY S4 must withstand such an impact.
In addition to our drop tests, the GALAXY S4 must pass the ‘tumble test’. Simulating such mishaps as when the smartphone is dropped down a flight of stairs, the GALAXY S4 is rolled inside a box. Again, the GALAXY S4 must be fully functional to pass the test.
Sudden impacts can ruin a smartphone, so the GALAXY S4 is given rigorous ‘impact tests’ to see if it’s strong enough to withstand the pressure. Often with smartphones, the glass covering the screen is the most susceptible to damage. The GALAXY S4 glass must hold up to the impact of a dropped metal ball from a considerable height.
Water and electronics do not mix, as a surprising number of people have learned the hard way. Puddles, sinks, and any other standing water can quickly put an end to a smartphone’s usefulness. To measure the GALAXY S4’s level of water resistance, an active GALAXY S4 is submerged in water, and then functionality is assessed. The GALAXY S4 must work error-free in order to receive a passing mark.
Temperature & Humidity Test
Heat and moisture can quickly shut down an otherwise robust electronic device, so a ‘temperature & humidity test’ was developed for the GALAXY S4. The smartphones are placed inside a controlled environment with extremely high temperatures and humidity for five days. After this grueling test, the GALAXY S4 must remain fully functional in order to pass.
Countless tests are run to ensure the GALAXY S4’s reliability, using a variety of tools and situations. Customer peace of mind is paramount, and you should feel free to use it in any environment. But remember, these tests are run by trained professionals, so DO NOT try these tests at home! |
From Heraldry of the World
|Heraldry of the World|
Civic heraldry of Germany - Deutsche Wappen (Gemeindewappen/Kreiswappen)
In Silber ein roter Mühlstein.
Faut | From Heraldry of the World
|Heraldry of the World|
Civic heraldry of Germany - Deutsche Wappen (Gemeindewappen/Kreiswappen)
In Silber ein roter Mühlstein.
Fautenbach was part of the Ortenau district and was a separate village, but has always been part of the district of Achern. In the early 19th century it became a separate municipality until 1971.
The oldest known seal of the village dates from the early 19th century and shows the mill-iron ( a circle with on each side a bar). It is probably an old village sign. All later seals show the same stone. In May 1900 the council asked for arms of the municipality. The State Archives proposed two different arms, one with the mill-iron, the other with a mill stone. The latter, which was adopted by the municipality in August 1900, was based on the old seal and the fact that it is also a symbol of St. Catherine, the patron saint of the village.
Literature : Zier, 1964. |
Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts, Apodidae, the tree swifts, Hemiprocnidae, and the hummingbirds, Trochilidae. In the Sibley-A | Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts, Apodidae, the tree swifts, Hemiprocnidae, and the hummingbirds, Trochilidae. In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes, but this is refuted by subsequent research. With nearly 450 species identified to date, they are the most diverse order of birds after the passerines.
As their name ("footless") suggests, their legs are small and have limit |
by Martha Allen
SPECIAL IDENTITY WOMEN'S PERIODICALS: 1963-1983
In addition to multi-issue and single-issue women's periodicals,
scores of others arose that derived from a particular perspective.
Women with | by Martha Allen
SPECIAL IDENTITY WOMEN'S PERIODICALS: 1963-1983
In addition to multi-issue and single-issue women's periodicals,
scores of others arose that derived from a particular perspective.
Women with special identities founded these periodicals. We will
examine the periodicals of the three most significant of women's
special identities -- those relating to their origin, to their
beliefs and to their sexual preference: black and ethnic women,
religious women, and lesbian women.
Women in each of these areas have, by building communication networks within their special identities, made major contributions to the women's movement.
While special identity periodicals have a chosen focus, we will frequently notice that they shared -- sometimes even to a greater extent -- the same eight characteristics of other women's media. These women most clearly were speaking for themselves, not reporting for others. They also showed a preference for collective rather than hierarchical structures, had a sharing and noncompetitive approach, analyzed with a clear understanding mass media's role relative to women of their particular identity, believed in a non-attack approach, sought to provide an "open forum," revealed new information not found in the mass media, and played an activist role to improve the quality of life.
The unique contribution of these special identity periodicals was the addition of perspectives long missing from public understanding. The public and many women in the movement itself did not know how these individuals perceived issues nor what had been their experience that had given them such perspectives. Their experience was not to be found in any media; on the contrary, the vast majority of all Americans had mistaken notions about them caused by mass media stereotypes. Without this knowledge, women and society as a whole have not been able to adequately assess priorities and strategies either in public life or in their personal lives.
The multi-issue women's periodicals and the ethnic and religious press expressed some of the information and experiences of these women. But all women with special identities knew that they needed a much deeper exploration of issues and concerns. They felt the necessity to communicate first of all among themselves where many things could be taken for granted and where each point did not always have to be put in other people's terms. In articulating their common experiences they would give each other mutual support. They understood the need to include all women sharing their identities, and their members included poor and working class women.
These special identity periodicals were numerous: although undoubtedly there were more, 237 are on record as having arisen in this period through 1983.
Ethnic Women, Women of Color/Third World Women
Thirty six of these special identity periodicals were devoted to women of a particular ethnic origin and women of color.
Several of them dealt comprehensively with all of these concerns. The first of these was Triple Jeopardy, published on an irregular basis between 1971 and1975 by the Third World Women's Alliance in New York and edited by Frances M. Beal. Triple Jeopardy discussed racism, imperialism, sexism, news of women of color around the world, health, radicalism, politics, and international relations, often in Spanish. In 1974, for instance, a special edition in Spanish on women in the struggle for liberation [Edicion Especial: La Mujer En La Lucha de Liberación] appeared with one section in English on Puerto Rico.
Ha |
Last July, over the course of a week, 97 percent of Greenland’s ice surface melted. The response from scientists can be summarized as: “Um, shit.” Or, by way of a direct quote: “This was so extraordinary that | Last July, over the course of a week, 97 percent of Greenland’s ice surface melted. The response from scientists can be summarized as: “Um, shit.” Or, by way of a direct quote: “This was so extraordinary that at first I questioned the result: was this real or was it due to a data error?”
It was real. And it’s one of the things that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2012 Arctic report card cites as an unexpected anomaly in a season full of them.
Researchers now think they know why it happened. Like so much of what’s happening in the Arctic, the melt likely stems from another aspect of climate change: fire.
From the Guardian:
Satellite observations, due to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union on Friday, for the first time tracks smoke and soot particles from tundra wildfires over to Greenland.
Scientists have long known that soot blackens snow and ice, reducing its powers of reflectivity and making it more likely to melt under the sun.
But the satellite records, due to be presented by the Ohio State University geographer Jason Box, go a step further, picking up images of smoke over Greenland at the time of last summer’s extreme melt.
The study, from a team centered at Ohio State’s Byrd Polar Research Center, works backward from the presence of smoke over Greenland (seen above) to possible sources. A series of tundra fires in Alaska and Western Canada and wildfires in Labrador earlier in the summer appear on this June 25 thermal map.
Analysis of barometric pressures in the week preceding the start of the melt suggests that winds passing over the areas of wildfire could have carried the smoke seen in the image at top.
Along with the smoke came soot, particulate matter of the type that’s also prompting concern over Arctic air travel. Such pollution demonstrably contributes to ice melt.
And, in yet another feedback loop, those tundra fires themselves are exacerbated by and contribute to climate change. From NPR:
Tundra fires have become more common over the past two decades as average temperatures in the Arctic have risen and sea ice has receded. And according to scientists, there has been a marked increase in lightning activity on the North Slope in the last two decades. Warmer temperatures may allow more vegetation to grow — which, in turn, makes it mor |
Overview for Manual of the Andamanese Languages
The Aborigines of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Lying in the Bay of Bengal), are among the most ancient races on earth. These people have remained secluded from rest of the | Overview for Manual of the Andamanese Languages
The Aborigines of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Lying in the Bay of Bengal), are among the most ancient races on earth. These people have remained secluded from rest of the world for centuries-so much so that to know about their history, origin, manners and customs, is an anthropological revelation of high importance. In this endeavour, the knowledge of their languages is a must, for each of the tribes possesses a distinct dialect, traceable however to the same source. The Andamanese languages though belong to one group, have no affinities by which we might infer their relatedness with other known group or groups. There is also a distinct poetical dialect, and in their songs they subordinate to rhythm, not only the form of worlds but even the syntax. The 'Manual' is the first of its kind on the subject of various Andamanese dialects. The author, who lived among these people for a long time, took the services of several interpreters for each dialect to ensure correctness. Beginning with an introduction on grammar, the Manual is divided into three parts: Part I deals with the dictionary, English-Andmanese; Part II with different sentences regarding weather, the coastal and jungle life, eating and drinking, diseases, emotions, relationships etc. while Part III gives a list of items used like food, articles made and used by the Andamanese, principal trees found in the Islands. 'Manual' will be immensely useful for anthropologists, sociologists, administrators and the researchers alike.
M.V. Portman (Author)
No info for this author |
risk assessment system for screening out
invasive pest plants
Daehler and Julie
on the following peer-reviewed publication:
Daehler, C. C., J. S. Denslow, S. Ansari, and H. Kuo | risk assessment system for screening out
invasive pest plants
Daehler and Julie
on the following peer-reviewed publication:
Daehler, C. C., J. S. Denslow, S. Ansari, and H. Kuo. 2004. A risk assessment system for screening out
invasive pest plants from Hawai'i and other Pacific Islands. Conservation Biology 18:360-368.
Summary of Findings
We tested the ability of a modified version of the Australia and New Zealand weed risk assessment system to identify pest plants in Hawai‘i and other Pacific Islands. We used information taken from outside Hawai‘i to predict the behavior (“pest” or “not a pest”) for almost 200 plant species introduced to Hawai‘i and other Pacific Islands. The screening system initially recommended further evaluation for 24% of these species, but an additional secondary screening was applied to this group, thereby reducing the rate of indecision to only 8%. To independently test the accuracy of the screening system, we compared its decisions (pest or not a pest) to opinions of 25 expert botanists and weed scientists who had substantial field experience in Hawai‘i or other Pacific Islands. We asked the experts to rate each species as “major pest”, “minor pest” or “not a pest” in native or managed ecosystems. The screening system correctly identified 95% of major pests and correctly identified 85% of nonpests. Among minor pests identified by the experts, 33% were classified as nonpests by the screening system. Use of the screening system to assess proposed plant introductions to Hawai‘i or other Pacific Islands and to identify high |
Babe weaves its themes of tolerance and individuality so seamlessly throughout the narrative that the young reader will almost effortlessly absorb the novel’s lessons of tolerance and individuality. Dick King-Smith manages to convey several layers of meaning without resorting to preaching | Babe weaves its themes of tolerance and individuality so seamlessly throughout the narrative that the young reader will almost effortlessly absorb the novel’s lessons of tolerance and individuality. Dick King-Smith manages to convey several layers of meaning without resorting to preaching or didacticism, making this novel valuable for teaching to and discussing with young readers.
Babe deftly dramatizes the dangers of stereotyping to both its victims and its perpetrators, illustrating how readily prejudice can be born of ignorance when its characters make unwarranted assumptions about one another. Fly’s puppies ask their mother if pigs are stupid: “Fly hesitated. On the one hand, having been born and brought up in sheep country, she had in fact never been personally acquainted with a pig. On the other, like most mothers, she did not wish to appear ignorant before her children. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘They’re stupid.’” After only brief acquaintance with Babe, however, she realizes that he does not conform to her preconceived ideas of pigs.
Fly also believes that sheep are stupid, that their bleating is meaningless, and that she can only control them through coercion. The sheep, in turn, are culpable of thoughtless prejudice by making no distinction between sheep dogs and wolves, lumping herders with predators. Through Babe’s efforts to know and understand both the sheep and the sheep dog, stereotypes are broken...
(The entire section is 599 words.)
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Can a car drive if air is its only fuel? Yes, in fact. Within the past decade, the idea has cropped up and been put to the test around the world.
In 2008, Popular Mechanics reported that the Air Car, | Can a car drive if air is its only fuel? Yes, in fact. Within the past decade, the idea has cropped up and been put to the test around the world.
In 2008, Popular Mechanics reported that the Air Car, created by Tata Motors in India, would start being sold in the United States in 2009. (So far, it hasn’t happened.)
In early September of this year, Dearman Engine Company won a grant from the UK’s innovation agency, called the Technology Strategy Board, to “build and test a liquid air engine fitted in a commercial vehicle,” according to GasWorld. The company, working with several universities and research institutions, had already created what it calls a “novel, zero emission, piston engine” fueled on nothing but liquid nitrogen.
The idea is that a car running on liquid air acts almost like a steam engine. When the air flows into the engine and begins to boil, it turns into a gas, expands and starts the pistons moving, according to ABC News. And it has almost zero emissions. “It won’t produce any emissions because it’s only air we’re using,” Dearman told ABC News. “We’re not burning anything. We’re just using heat from the atmosphere and liquid air.”
Whether we might all drive cars filled with liquid nitrogen remains to be seen. The concept is still really new, only gaining popularity back in May when The Center for Low Carbon Futures in the U.K. published a report about the alternative fuel. |
BSE scare threatens EU budget
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's agriculture budget could be stretched to breaking point by the mad cow disease crisis, its farm policy chief has warned.
Consumers are turning their backs on beef with | BSE scare threatens EU budget
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's agriculture budget could be stretched to breaking point by the mad cow disease crisis, its farm policy chief has warned.
Consumers are turning their backs on beef with consumption dropping by an average of 27 percent, Franz Fischler said.
He added that many non-EU countries have banned imports from the EU, threatening to create a huge market surplus with no outlet.
The latest BSE scare took hold as a number of EU countries -- previously thought to be almost BSE-free -- recorded new cases and an incident in France where potentially contaminated meat was found in supermarkets.
As more evidence emerges that the brain-wasting disorder, linked to the human version, new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD), has spread beyond the EU, governments in Europe are struggling to cope with consumer panic and the collapse of the beef trade.
Fischler said: "The crisis on the beef market goes further than one might think. The latest market indications are alarming.
"Buying into public intervention is not only no solution for budget restricti |
The Atlas SLV-3 was a stage and a half rocket, built as a standardised replacement for earlier Atlas launch systems, which had been derived from the various Atlas missiles. A Burner upper stage was flown on the final flight to increase | The Atlas SLV-3 was a stage and a half rocket, built as a standardised replacement for earlier Atlas launch systems, which had been derived from the various Atlas missiles. A Burner upper stage was flown on the final flight to increase payload.
ATDA in orbit, with its payload fairing still attached.
It is most well known for launching the Augmented Target Docking Adapter (ATDA), a backup for the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle which was to be used by Gemini 9 after its GATV failed to reach orbit. The launch was conducted on 1 June 1966, and was the first flight of the Atlas SLV-3 as an independent vehicle. It was only discovered after Gemini 9 had rendezvoused with it that the launch had itself failed, as the payload fairing had not separated. |
Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
Bombs were exploding all over the city.
When I told Ian that Maggie had refused to come, he simply exploded.
She suddenly exploded with rage, and stormed off | Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word
Bombs were exploding all over the city.
When I told Ian that Maggie had refused to come, he simply exploded.
She suddenly exploded with rage, and stormed off.
The room exploded into uproar when the fire alarm went off.
This is the British English definition of explode. View American English definition of explode.
if a horse whinnies, it makes a high sound through its nose and mouth |
In 1824 Edward Pease joined with Michael Longdridge, George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson, to form a company to make the locomotives. The Robert Stephenson & Company, at Forth Street, Newcastle-up | In 1824 Edward Pease joined with Michael Longdridge, George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson, to form a company to make the locomotives. The Robert Stephenson & Company, at Forth Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, became the world's first locomotive builder. The first railway locomotive produced as the works, Locomotion, was finished in September 1825. This locomotive was the main one used on the Stockton & Darlington line was opened on 27th September, 1825.
For the Rainhill Trials in October 1829, the Robert Stephenson entered their new locomotive, the Rocket. Also involved in its production was Henry Booth, the Secretary and Treasurer of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. It was Booth who suggested using a multi-tubular boiler to produce the necessary steam to drive the locomotive. It was Robert Stephenson's idea to move the cylinders from their traditional vertical position to one inclined at thirty-five degrees. To increase the heating surface, Stephenson replaced the conventional 12 inch diameter iron fire tube with several tubes of 2 inch diameter made of copper. Her cylinders drove on the front pair of wheels and were steeply inclined towards the rear.
Ten locomotives were originally entered for the Rainhill Trials but only five turned up and two of these were withdrawn during the first couple of days of the trials. Sans Pareil and Novelty did well at first but suffered mechanical problems. By the third day the Rocket was the only locomotive left in the competition. That day it covered 35 miles in 3 hours 12 minutes. Hauling 13 tons of loaded wagons, the Rocket averaged over 12 mph. On one trip it reached 25 mph and on a locomotive-only run, 29 mph.
After studying all the evidence, the three judges, John Raistrick, Nicholas Wood and John Kennedy, awarded the £500 first prize to the owners of the Rocket. The contract to produce locomotives for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway went to the Robert Stephenson Company at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
In 1830 the Rocket was modified. A smokebox was added and the chimney was shortened. The following year the cylinders was reduced from 35 degrees to 8 degrees, which made it a much more steady ride. The modified Rocket worked on the Liverpool & Manchester line until the late 1830s. It was then sold and finished its working life in Carlisle.
By causing all the flame and heated air to pass through a great number of tubes surrounded by water, a very great and rapid means of heating the water is obtained as a very large heated surface is thus exposed to the water.
Former locomotives with only a flue through the boiler have never been able to travel faster than about eight miles an hour as they had not sufficient heating surface in the boiler to generate the steam for supplying the cylinder more rapidly.
The introduction of tubes into the boiler is one of the greatest improvements that has been made in the construction of locomotives, and was the cause of the superiority of the rocket engine to those that competed with it.
The engine which made the first trial, was the "Rocket" of Mr. Robert Stephenson (the son, we believe, of Mr. George Stephenson, the engineer of the railway.) lt is a large and strongly-built engine, and went with a velocity, which, as long as the spectators had nothing to contrast it with, they thought surprising enough. It drew a weight of twelve tons, nine cwt. at the rate of ten miles four chains in an hour, (just exceeding the stipulated maximum) and, when the weight was detached from it, went at a speed of about eighteen miles an hour. The faults most perceptible in this engine, were a great inequality in its velocity, and a very partial fulfillment of the condition that it should "effectually consume its own smoke."
We may consider the trial of the Locomotive Engines as now virtually at an end. It is much to be regretted, that "The Novelty" was not built in time to have the same opportunity of exercising that Mr. Stephenson's engine had, or that there is not in London, or its vicinity, any railway where experiments with it could have been tried. It will evidently require several weeks to perfect the working of the machine and the proper fitting of the joints, and under this impression, Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericsson have acted wisely in withdrawing, us they have done, from the contest.
The course is thus left clear for Mr Stephenson; and we congratulate him, with much sincerity, on the probability of his being about to receive the reward of £500. This is due to him for the perfection to which he has brought the old-fashioned locomotive engine, but the grand prize of public opinion is the one which has been gained by Messrs. Braithwaite and Ericsson, for their decided improvement in the arrangement, the |
March 7, 2013 — In 1784, philosopher Immanuel Kant penned a now-famous essay entitled, “What Is Enlightenment?” He called out people’s tendency to blindly follow thought leaders. “If I have a book that | March 7, 2013 — In 1784, philosopher Immanuel Kant penned a now-famous essay entitled, “What Is Enlightenment?” He called out people’s tendency to blindly follow thought leaders. “If I have a book that thinks for me, a pastor who acts as my conscience, a physician who prescribes my diet, and so on — then I have no need to exert myself. I have no need to think, if I can only pay; others will take care of that disagreeable business for me,” he wrote. His thesis for the essay became a rallying cry for the era. “Sapere aude! (Dare to know.) ‘Have the courage to use your own understanding,’ is therefore the motto of the enlightenment.”
Kant’s take on the way people think — or don’t — has been borne out by decades of research. It turns out our minds use shortcuts, or “heuristics,” when making decisions and forming judgments. “If we’re buying toothpaste, we go by price or brand. We don’t sit there and read the label for 20 minutes,” says University of Wisconsin-Madison communications professor Dietram Scheufele. Similarly, most people have formed opinions on what to do about climate change without having reviewed the scientific peer-reviewed literature.
“We trust scientists, we trust a political party,” Scheufele says, because we don’t have time to dig into what someone else spent 20 years researching. It’s rational, he says, for people to act as “cognitive misers” in a world that contains far more information than one can personally process.
Problems arise, however, when such shortcuts become counterproductive to our self-interests.
Anchors and Aversion
In the 1970s, psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky discovered a couple dozen “cognitive biases” people consistently display that fly in the face of laissez-faire or neoclassical economics. Just as humans are prone to optical illusions, Kahneman and Tversky found, we also consistently make certain errors in judgments and thinking, and our behaviors follow suit.
One example involves a concept known as anchoring, which holds that people place greater emphasis on the first information they receive about something, even when later information contradicts it. Consider these individuals:
Alan: intelligent, industrious, impulsive, critical, stubborn, envious.
Ben: envious, stubborn, critical, impulsive, industrious, intelligent.
Most people think more highly of Alan than of Ben, even though the same adjectives were used for both, because for Alan the positive adjectives come first. Similarly, research shows that job interviewers make up their minds about interviewees within moments of meeting, then look for facts and ask directed questions that support their initial opinion.
Additionally, people place more weight on a single personal anecdote than on data — which is why, for example, media reports of one individual who died or was cured lead to strong and potentially incorrect opinions about a medical procedure.
Kahneman and Tversky also studied loss aversion, in which people prefer to avoid losses rather than seek gains. People would much rather avoid a $5 charge than get a $5 discount, and consumer choices reflect this.
Studies have shown that people become more, not less, entrenched in their opinions when presented information that opposes their views.
A recent study by Toby Bolsen and James Druckman, professors of political science at Georgia State and Northwestern, respectively, found that facts were of limited value to people who had formed preexisting opinions about genetically modified foods and nanotechnology. Study participants’ initial opinions not only were influenced by their political views, but also colored their subsequent evaluation of new facts. When participants were told about studies that revealed GM beets had a harmful effect on biodiversity or that |
||24 May 2007
GSA Release No. 07-21
June Media Highlights: Geology
Boulder, CO, USA - Topics include: how oceans reacted to greenhouse conditions of the Cretaceous; first direct age | ||24 May 2007
GSA Release No. 07-21
June Media Highlights: Geology
Boulder, CO, USA - Topics include: how oceans reacted to greenhouse conditions of the Cretaceous; first direct age determination of an Archean microfossil; discovery of a swimming bipedal dinosaur; understanding volcanoes that don't eject lava or debris; and new insights into the relationship of megathrust earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Highlights are provided below. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary copies of articles by contacting Ann Cairns at. Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GEOLOGY in articles published. Contact Ann Cairns for additional information or other assistance.
Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service,.
- Phosphorus and the roles of productivity and nutrient recycling during oceanic anoxic event 2
Haydon P. Mort, University of Neuchâtel, Institute of Geology, Neuchâtel 2009, Switzerland; et al. Pages 483-486.
- Sediments deposited on the ocean floor around 100 million years ago — during the Cretaceous period — provide a glimpse of how oceans react under greenhouse conditions. This period is important in predicting future changes because its high temperatures and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations are similar to potential future conditions on Earth. Mort et al. find that dramatic changes in the ocean and atmosphere millions of years ago were exacerbated by a decrease in oxygen on the sea-floor, which is also being seen in many places today. This oxygen decrease appears to have caused changes in the oceans that lasted about 500,000 years, when they would otherwise have been much shorter. Today's decrease in seafloor oxygen is a result of CO2 emissions and an increased amount of chemicals used in agriculture making their way out to sea. The resulting increase in productivity causes the oxygen at the bottom of the ocean to be consumed by the bacteria that feed off organic material. Disturbing changes have been discovered in several coastal areas, including coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico and the Baltic Sea, where ‘dead zones’ (areas devoid of all life) have formed. The 100-million-year-old sediments in Mort et al.’s study suggest that these zones may become a permanent feature of our oceans, even if humans stop polluting coastal waters.
- Direct dating of Archean microbial ichnofossils
Neil R. Banerjee, University of Western Ontario, Department of Earth Sciences, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada; et al. Pages 487-490.
- Well-preserved, roughly 3.35-billion-year-old pillow lavas from Western Australia contain sub-millimeter tubular microfossils that represent some of the earliest vestiges of life on Earth. The microfossils are produced by the boring action of tiny microbes as they search for nutrients in the glassy margins of pillow lavas. The tubular microfossils discovered in Australia are identical to microbial ichnofossils in modern basalts, where DNA and organic remains have shown a direct link between the microbes and the tunnels they excavate. Direct radiometric dating of the minerals in the tubular structures suggests microbial alteration of the volcanic rocks occurred immediately after eruption, but may have continued for a protracted length of geological time. Banerjee et al.’s study marks the first direct age determination of an Archean microfossil. Microbial colonization of basaltic glass thus appears to have been part of a deep subsurface biosphere that was well established and possibly widespread within the first billion years of Earth's history. Pillow lavas are the most common rock type in Archean greenstone belts, so volcanic environments may not only have been one of the earliest places where life began; they may have also been where life first flourished, warmed by geothermal energy and protected from harmful radiation. Archean microbial biosignatures preserved in pillow basalts from greenstone belts may therefore help elucidate not only the presence of early life on Earth but also illuminate the conditions under which life began.
- Were non-avian theropod dinosaurs able to swim? Supportive evidence from an Early Cretaceous trackway, Cameros Basin (La Rioja, Spain)
Loic Costeur (corresponding author), Université de Nantes, UMR CNRS 6112 LPGN, Nantes, France; et al. Pages 507-510.
- Ezquerra et al. describe the discovery of an exceptional trackway t |
January 29, 2012 | 7:10 am
Dr. Leora F. Batnitzky, Chair of the Department of Religion at Princeton University and author of How Judaism Became a Religion: An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought | January 29, 2012 | 7:10 am
Dr. Leora F. Batnitzky, Chair of the Department of Religion at Princeton University and author of How Judaism Became a Religion: An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thought, discusses the evolution of Judaism and its role in today’s world.
Your book starts - and maybe also ends - with the Mendelssohnian revolution. Can you explain why Mendelssohn is so important - and was he able to revolutionize Judaism?
Mendelssohn is so important because he invents the very category of Jewish religion by separating Judaism from politics. In a premodern context, it simply was not possible to conceive of Jewish religion, nationality, and what we now call culture as distinct from one another, because a Jew’s religious life was defined by, though not limited to, Jewish law, which was simultaneously religious, political, and cultural in nature.
Mendelssohn moved Judaism into the modern world by contending that politically, though not theologically, the individual Jew is separate from the Jewish community. In doing so, he anticipated a time when Judaism, however defined, is a matter of voluntary association. I wouldn’t say that he himself revolutionized Judaism but rather that his claims give voice to what became and remains a major conundrum of modern Jewish identity and thought, which is that Judaism, as a religion of practice and adherence to law, does not really fit a modern conception of religion as a matter of belief or faith. But as I argue in the book, definitions of Judaism in terms nationality or a culture are also modern inventions that have their own internal tensions and contradictions.
The book mostly deals with what one might call “Jewish thought” and “Jewish thinkers”. But is it really the thinkers who make Judaism what it is - or maybe thinkers only follow the “people” and only provide explanation to what Judaism had become?
I don’t think that Jewish thinkers (or thought) define what Judaism is. What we call Judaism is something that has changed historically over time, and different definitions of Judaism do reflect in large part what Jewish people do and have done. But I would also resist the idea that Jewish thinkers, as you put it, “follow the ‘people’ and only provide explanation to what Judaism” has become. Jewish thinkers (like thinkers generally) attempt to articulate answers to perceived problems.
When reading Jewish thinkers (as well as thinkers more generally), I think it is helpful to ask: “What is bothering this person? Why is he or she writing?” While many of the Jewish thinkers and writers I discuss in my book are very different from one another, they all are attempting to answer a similarly vexing question about what it means to be Jewish in the modern world in which the organic structures of premodern Jewish communities have in different ways come apart. In this sense, Jewish thinkers give conscious voice to a set of problems that define modern Jewish life.
How does the Jewish State change the relations between religion, nationality and culture in the Jewish world? Are we witnessing two contradictory interpretations of Judaism - namely, Israeli Judaism and Diasporic Judaism?
I do think we are witnessing two different, though perhaps not entirely contradictory, forms of Judaism in Israel and the diaspora. I’d say they are two sides of the same spectrum. Put far too simply, Judaism is highly politicized in Israel and highly depoliticized in the diaspora. In Israel, Judaism is matter of public, national concern, while in the diaspora Judaism is largely relegated to the private sphere. However, these two forms of modern Judaism do share important features with one another (which is why they remain on the same spectrum).
First, Israel is a modern nation state. Arguments about the role of Judaism in Israeli public life as well as controversies over the power of religious authorities in Israel take place within the framework the modern state which, in theory at least, protects individual rights as well as the rights of minorities. So long as Israel remains a democratic state, there will always be a productive tension between highly politicized forms of Judaism and the political reality of the state.
Second, the largest diaspora community in the world today exists in the United States, which is different from the modern European context that gave birth to the idea of depoliticized Jewish religion. In the U.S., religion enters public discourse in many messy ways. This can make some forms of American Judaism less private, and more public.
In your description of Buber and Rosenzweig you point to the fact that even though these two German Jewish thinkers resisted the idea of Judaism as religion, both could hardly “overcome the category”. Other scholars had similar difficulties in trying to pinpoint the essence of Judaism. Is this because Judaism is too broad for any such attempt to define it - or is it maybe because Judaism is a religion, nationality and culture all at once, and all attempts to separate or eliminate one of these elements must fail?
Historically understood, Judaism is too broad for any attempt to define it in terms of the categories religion |
To help distinguish the cultivated from the native
plants of Florida, look for this Native!
Common Name list with images introduces many tree and shrub
species that are indigenous to, or that have become naturalized in Florida; by
FOREST | To help distinguish the cultivated from the native
plants of Florida, look for this Native!
Common Name list with images introduces many tree and shrub
species that are indigenous to, or that have become naturalized in Florida; by
FOREST TREES OF FLORIDA
access to the classic standard handbook published in 1925, slightly revised, with
original and other line drawings. Native!
Ecological Pests and/or Trees to be Regarded or Used with Caution
equisetifolia Tree and closeup image of inflorescence, University of Catania,
Plants of Hawaii, UH Botany-Images of flowering and fruiting structures, leaves.
Brazilian Pepper-tree, Schinus terebinthifolius by David W. Hall, Vernon V. Vandiver, Brent A. Sellers, and Kenneth A. Langeland
Brazilian Pepper-tree in Landscape Maintenance
Old timers may know it as Florida Holly, which it isn't. Nevertheless, it is up to property owners to eradicate this noxious plant now.
Bucida buceras L. Common Name: BLACK OLIVE
An expensive arborist is required to properly maintain a Black Olive. Otherwise they become misshapen from bad pruning and wind damage. The tree is notorious for invasive roots, its quantity of fruits which drop and rot on the ground, and for unsightly orange stains left after pollen and leaf drop.
Ficus aurea : Strangler Fig by Edward F. Gilman and Dennis G. Watson
Not necesarily a pest, or invasive plant, strangler fig can nonetheless overtake a tree which may be the preferable species in a controlled landscape.
Indian Rosewood Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. ex DC
Planted frequently in new developments for its fast rate of growth, it becomes so large as to go over easily in high winds, requiring yearly pruning..
Large Trees Without Showy Flower |
BATTLE OF SABINE PASS
P. McDonald, PhD
Jefferson Davis called the Battle of Sabine Pass, fought on September
8, 1863, for control of the inlet from the Gulf of Mexico to Sabine
| BATTLE OF SABINE PASS
P. McDonald, PhD
Jefferson Davis called the Battle of Sabine Pass, fought on September
8, 1863, for control of the inlet from the Gulf of Mexico to Sabine
Lake and southeast Texas, one of the most significant military engagements
in world history.
Davis was grasping for any Confederate success just two months after
the losses at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, so such hyperbole is understandable.
Actually, the facts were spectacular: less than fifty Confederate
artillerists kept approximately 4,000 Union troops and seventeen vessels
from coming through the pass. If one leaves the story there, the battle
does seem amazing.
Here is the rest of the story. General N.P. Banks, following the Union's
Anaconda plan to defeat the Confederate by dividing it into portions,
sent General William B. Franklin's command by sea to invade the Louisiana-Texas
coast via Sabine Pass. The goal was to stay aboard the ships as long
as possible before disembarking and marching north to interrupt rail
connections between the two states.
The Davis Guards, or Company F of the First Texas Heavy Artillery
Regiment, commanded by Captain Frederick Oldham, defended the coast,
and on the day of the attack Lieutenant Dick
Dowling had the duty at Sabine Pass.
The defenders previously had sighted their guns on the narrow channel
in the pass, so when the Union vessels started through the pass they
fired away when the ships reached their line of fire. They disabled
the Sachem and the Clifton, and these ships then blocked the pass,
preventing the others from proceeding.
What is strange is that Franklin did not attempt to disembark his
troops and go around the artillery on land. He withdrew entirely,
and Banks did not attempt to revisit Sabine Pass, instead attempting
to gain entre into Texas via the Red River. This effort, too, was
rebuffed by Confederates at the Battle of Mansfield early in the summer
The Confederate victory at Sabine Pass may not have justified President
Davis' boast, yet some pride is justified. Controlling Texas was not
a major Union goal on its way to victory in the Civil War, which probably
is why Banks did not receive orders from U.S. Grant to try the Pass
again, but the battle did have some consequences. War weariness in
the North was a potentially fatal issue for the Lincoln Administration,
and one more time the Confederates seemed unconquerable.
Grant eventually gave President Abraham Lincoln the victories that
preserved the Union. But for a while, Dick Dowling and his Texas gunners
helped to keep the issue in doubt.
Things Historical May
27 - June 2, 2001 Column
Published by permission.
(Archie P. McDonald is Director of the East Texas Historical Association
and author or editor of over 20 books on Texas)
Cemetery - Edward Smith & The Battle of Sabine Pass |
State and federal health officials are collaborating on an investigation of a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly that has sickend at least 93 people in 19 states and the District of Columbia, according to a statement by the Centers for Disease | State and federal health officials are collaborating on an investigation of a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly that has sickend at least 93 people in 19 states and the District of Columbia, according to a statement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today. At least 10 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.
The case count by state is as follows: Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (4), District of Columbia (2), Georgia (4), Illinois (8), Louisiana (2), Maryland (8), Massachusetts (4), Mississippi (1), Missouri (1), New Jersey (6), New York (23), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island (4), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Virginia (5), and Wisconsin (8).
The investigation, which began January 28, 2012 is ongoing and investigators are still trying to determine the source of the outbreak and whether it is foodborne. State health officials are interviewing those who became ill to learn which foods they might have eaten and other exposures in the week prior to the onset of illness. During initial interviews, many people reported that they had eaten sushi, sashimi, or similar foods in a variety of locations in the week before becoming ill.
Salmonella Bareilly is an unusual serotype of Salmonella, according to the CDC. Symptoms of a Salmonella infection include diarrhea, fever and abdominal |
Backwaters & beaches of India.
The celebrated backwaters of Kerala comprise one of South India’s most picturesque rural areas, an idyllic network of rivers and Canals in a luxuriant coastal terrain. Originally created by 45 rivers, | Backwaters & beaches of India.
The celebrated backwaters of Kerala comprise one of South India’s most picturesque rural areas, an idyllic network of rivers and Canals in a luxuriant coastal terrain. Originally created by 45 rivers, which flow down from the Western Ghats to the coats, the region is characterized by lush coconut groves and paddy fields.
It is known as Kuttanad – “the land of the short people”, a reference perhaps, to the sight of the men and women-working knee deep in paddy fields. For centuries, the waterways provided an efficient, peaceful transport system, for the local farmers and inhabitants. Foreign invaders, too, appreciated their importance as trade and communication arteries, and built a number of settlements along the riverbanks.
Today, coconuts and peppers are still carried in country boats, newspapers are delivered by skiff, and children go to school by ferry.
The scene is idyllic and the mood dreamlike. Life on the backwaters is quite distinct from the rest of India, beating to its own gentle rhythm. The banks are lined with cashew trees, hibiscus and modest thatched cottages.
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Spirituality And Religion |
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and is set in the wider context of social history. Among certain jurists and historians of legal | Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and is set in the wider context of social history. Among certain jurists and historians of legal process it has been seen as the recording of the evolution of laws and the technical explanation of how these laws have evolved with the view of better understanding the origins of various legal concepts, some consider it a branch of intellectual history. Twentieth century historians have viewed legal history in a more contextualized manner more in line with the thinking of social historians. They have looked at legal institutions as complex systems of rules, players and symbols and have seen these elements interact with society to change, adapt, resist or promote certain aspects of civil society. Such legal historians have tended to analyze case histories from the parameters of social science inquiry, using statistical methods, analyzing class distinctions among litigants, petitioners and other players in various legal processes. By analyzing case outcomes, transaction costs, number of settled cases they have begun an analysis of legal institutions, practices, procedures and briefs that give us a more complex picture of law and society than the study of jurisprudence, case law and civil codes can achieve.
Ancient Egyptian law, dating as far back as 3000 BC, had a civil code that was probably broken into twelve books. It was based on the concept of Ma'at, characterised by tradition, rhetorical speech, social equality and impartiality.1 By the 22nd century BC, Ur-Nammu, an ancient Sumerian ruler, formulated the first law code, consisting of casuistic statements ("if... then..."). Around 1760 BC, King Hammurabi further developed Babylonian law, by codifying and inscribing it in stone. Hammurabi placed several copies of his law code throughout the kingdom of Babylon as stelae, for the entire public to see; this became known as the Codex Hammurabi. The most intact copy of these stelae was discovered in the 19th century by British Assyriologists, and has since been fully transliterated and translated into various languages, including English, German and French. Ancient Athens, the small Greek city-state, was the first society based on broad inclusion of the citizenry, excluding women and the slave class. Ancient Greek has no word for "law" as an abstract concept,2 retaining instead the distinction between divine law (thémis), human decree (nomos) and custom (díkē).3 Yet Ancient Greek law contained major constitutional innovations in the development of democracy.4
Ancient India and China represent distinct traditions of law, and had historically independent schools of legal theory and practice. The Arthashastra, dating from the 400 BC, and the Manusmriti from 100 AD were influential treatises in India, texts that were considered authoritative legal guidance.5 Manu's central philosophy was tolerance and pluralism, and was cited across South East Asia.6 But this Hindu tradition, along with Islamic law, was supplanted by the common law when India became part of the British Empire.7 Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Hong Kong also adopted the common law.
The eastern Asia legal tradition reflects a unique blend of secular and religious influences.8 Japan was the first country to begin modernizing its legal system along western lines, by importing bits of the French, but mostly the German Civil Code.9 This partly reflected Germany's status as a rising power in the late nineteenth century. Similarly, traditional Chinese law gave way to westernization towards the final years of the Ch'ing dynasty in the form of six private law codes based mainly on the Japanese model of German law.10 Today Taiwanese law retains the closest affinity to the codifications from that period, because of the split between Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists, who fled there, and Mao Zedong's communists who won control of the mainland in 1949. The current legal infrastructure in the People's Republic of China was heavily influenced by soviet Socialist law, which essentially inflates administrative law at the expense of private law rights.11 Today, however, because of rapid industrialization China has been reforming, at least in terms of economic (if not social and political) rights. A new contract code in 1999 represented a turn away from administrative domination.12 Furthermore, after negotiations lasting fifteen years, in 2001 China joined the World Trade Organization.13
One of the major legal systems developed during the Middle Ages was Islamic law and jurisprudence. A number of important legal institutions were developed by Islamic jurists during the classical period of Islamic law and jurisprudence, One such institution was the Hawala, an early informal value transfer system, which is mentioned in texts of Islamic jurisprudence as early as the 8th century. Hawala itself later influenced the development of the Aval in French civil law and the Avallo in Italian law.14
Roman law was heavily influenced by Greek teachings.15 It forms the bridge to the modern legal world, over the centuries between the rise and de |
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, promised last year that the ratification process would be under way by now in the duma, the lower house of the country's parliament, but no progress has been made.
The United States and Australia | Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, promised last year that the ratification process would be under way by now in the duma, the lower house of the country's parliament, but no progress has been made.
The United States and Australia have already withdrawn their support, putting Russia in a crucial position. Its support will make or break the pact.
Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, and Tony Blair have separately written to Mr Putin in the past two months asking him to act, so far without success.
So concerned is the EU about the lack of progress that a delegation of the leaders of three countries will be sent to see Mr Putin in March.
Russian doubters about the value of ratifying the Kyoto protocol have organised a world climate conference for September 29 in Moscow. This conference is to "re-examine" the science on the issue, seen as casting doubt upon it, a position that will delight President George Bush, who wants to destroy the protocol.
Behind the conference are the two scientists who lead for Russia in the climate talks, Alexander Bedritski and Yuri Israel. Both are respected members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but they apparently believe that climate change might be good for their country. They believe global warming might pep up cold regions and allow more grain and potatoes to be grown, making the country wealthier. They argue that from the Russian perspective nothing needs to be done to stop climate change.
The EU hopes that Mr Putin, having promised that the protocol would be ratified this spring, will bring his reluctant scientists into line. The energy and economic ministries are said to still be in favour of the treaty because they expect to make money out of it.
Under the complex rules Russia's support is essential if the protocol is to succeed. This is because developed countries that are responsible for 55% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions must ratify it for it to come into force. With the US and Australia refusing to sign, Russia's cooperation is needed to reach the required figure. All the other necessary countries have already ratified the pact or are doing so.
Currently there are 104 parties, representing over 44% of eligible emissions - Russian's emissions would automatically bring the protocol into legal force.
All the developed countries have a target to reduce emissions on 1990 levels by 2010 based on the protocol becoming law this year. If a country fails to reach its target by domestic measures, it is entitled to buy surplus carbon from any country that has already exceeded its target.
This provision could make Russia a lot of money because it already has more than reached its reduction target because of the collapse of the economy in the 1990s. Several countries not expected to reach their targets would be offering hard cash for Russian surpluses.
A second scheme under the protocol allows clean energy projects and carbon saving schemes inside Russian borders to be financed by other countries which can gain carbon credits as a result.
To try to counter establishment scientists who believe climate change could be good for Russia, a report on how the country will suffer will be circulated in the coming weeks. The report, produced jointly by scientists from Kassel University in Germany, Moscow State University and the centre for ecology and forest production of the Russian Academy of Sciences, contradicts the establishment view.
It says that previous calculations that more warmth and rain will be bring more crops for Russia fail to take into account regional variations. It says that only 15 out of the 89 administrative regions of Russia provide the rest of the country with much of its food.
Under the most likely climate change calculations these 15 areas in the south and west will suffer summer heat and droughts. The number of people affected by these droughts is 58 million. It will rise to 77 million by the 2020s and 141 million by 2070.
"The possibility of more frequent bad harvests is a threat to Russia's food security that should be taken seriously," the report says.
Although rainfall is set to increase in much of Russia, increasing river flows and groundwater levels, and incidentally the risk of flooding, the southwest will suffer the opposite. There is already pressure on water supplies because of large withdrawals for cities and irrigation. Lack of rain will reduce river flows even further.
The report concludes: "Our findings challenge the belief that climate change will generally benefit Russian agriculture and water resources. Inst |
Read about whatever the hell a Super-Earth is and why I’m talking about one after the jump
Think of Earth only bigger and better…and in HD!
On September 12th, HARPS released 50 new exoplanets (plan | Read about whatever the hell a Super-Earth is and why I’m talking about one after the jump
Think of Earth only bigger and better…and in HD!
On September 12th, HARPS released 50 new exoplanets (planets found outside our solar system.) This may not seem like a big deal but keep in mind that only a few years ago we had never confirmed A SINGLE exoplanet and now, thanks to HARPS and the Kepler Space Observatory, we’ve confirmed over 600!!
An exoplanet that stood out to astronomers was HD 855 12 b (wow, what a name.) It is 3.6 times the size of Earth, giving it a Super-Earth classification, is only 35 light-years away, and orbits on the edge of it’s star’s Habitable Zone. This means there’s a possibility water can exist on the planet’s surface.
But what does it really mean? Pack your bags kids! We found a bigger, better planet than this smelly, old one and I say we start making our way there pronto…seeing as how it’s going to take us 195 million years even in our fastest spaceship. When I think of it that way, maybe we should just stay put. |
Style and Technique (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
“Under the Lion’s Paw” is a realistic story with characteristics of Garland’s veritism. He defines “veritism” as a form of realism that uses | Style and Technique (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
“Under the Lion’s Paw” is a realistic story with characteristics of Garland’s veritism. He defines “veritism” as a form of realism that uses true-to-life detail with an impressionist’s subjectivity. True-to-life detail is immediately apparent in the somber opening paragraphs as Garland describes the end of a farmer’s (Council’s) workday. Local color elements, such as the dialogue, help sustain the realism: Council, dressed in a ragged greatcoat against the cold weather, is plowing his field with four horses and calls out to them: “Come round there, boys!—Round agin!... Stiddy, Kate—stiddy! None o’ y’r tantrums, Kittie.” Garland captures the regional speech rhythms and words in the fashion of the true local colorist.
In his narration and description, he uses traditional figures of speech—simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, and others—to fine effect: “squalls of snow,” “dripping, desolate clouds,” “tenacious as tar,” “holding at bay the growl of the impotent, cheated wind,” the children had a “sort of spasmodic cheerfulness, as insects in winter revive when laid on the hearth.”
In addition to realism, there are elements of naturalism and impressionism in “Under the Lion’s Paw.” Naturalism is suggested in the fact that Haskins is a victim of circumstances not of his making but of happenstance: the failure of his first farm because of the grasshoppers, the good...
(The entire section is 546 words.)
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According to the About page for the Association of Religion Data Archives, "The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going | According to the About page for the Association of Religion Data Archives, "The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections and developing features for educators, journalists, religious congregations, and researchers. Data included in the ARDA are submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world. Currently housed in the Social Science Research Institute, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of Sociology at the Pennsylvania State University, the ARDA is funded by the Lilly Endowment, the John Templeton Foundation and the Pennsylvania State University."
This website has a bunch of great articles and facts that can help you learn more about your ancestor's religion. From the homepage, click on the button on the left labeled The Learning Center. Under Learning Resources check out Research Tools.
Under Research Tools you will find information about American religious denominations including a family tree which shows where different den |
The Yates Street residential district was developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s along the banks of Twelve Mile Creek on land originally owned by William Hamilton Merritt.
Soon after he moved to St. Catharines, Merr | The Yates Street residential district was developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s along the banks of Twelve Mile Creek on land originally owned by William Hamilton Merritt.
Soon after he moved to St. Catharines, Merritt began building a mill along the shores of the creek. It was there that he discovered an artesian well with mineral water flowing from a deep cavity in the earth. This water could be boiled, leaving behind salt residue -- a valuable commodity at the time. In later years, it was discovered that drinking or bathing in the mineral water could cure a variety of ailments. This prompted the development of two spa resorts on Yates Street -- the Stephenson House and Springbank Hotel --allowing those with ailing health and vacationers from far and wide to test the healing powers of the mineral waters.
In the early to mid 1800's, many mills were constructed along Twelve Mile Creek, all of which needed a reliable source of water. As well, the Erie Canal was being designed in the United States, a waterway that would divert vessels away from local businesses in Upper Canada. Hoping to solve both of these problems, Merritt formed the Welland Canal Company in 1824.
The Company was made up of many investors, one of whom was John B. Yates, an entrepreneur from the United States. Yates Street was named in his honour. The Canal was finally finished in 1829, bringing vessels through Twelve Mile Creek on their way to the Great Lakes and beyond.
In the following years, many important businesses made their home on the banks of the Welland Canal. These included the Taylor & Bate Brewery, Shickluna Shipyards, and St. Catharines Wheel Works. Yates Street was located very close to the new businesses so many of the mill owners and managers chose to reside there. They were generally very wealthy men and therefore wanted large, elegant homes. A lot of the homes were constructed in elaborate styles such as Georgian and Tudor that are rarely seen in other parts of the city due to the large size and detailing required.
Over the years, the home owners have wisely preserved many of the grown trees on their property, creating the beautiful tree-lined streetscape we see today. Although the mills and other canalside businesses ceased operation after a new route was chosen for the canal, the elegant residences remain, creating a beautiful eclectic neighbourhood.
The origin of street names in the Yates Street Heritage District: |
Learn something new every day More Info... by email
A seiche can be described as an oscillation in a body of water. Any enclosed or partially enclosed body of water, such as a lake, bay or harbor, has a number of | Learn something new every day More Info... by email
A seiche can be described as an oscillation in a body of water. Any enclosed or partially enclosed body of water, such as a lake, bay or harbor, has a number of natural frequencies at which it will resonate, depending on the dimensions of the body. The water can be set into a wave motion at one of these frequencies — for example, by wind or by seismic activity — resulting in standing waves that move vertically, but not horizontally. There will also be one or more nodes, located halfway between the crests of the waves, at which there is no vertical motion. The word "seiche" — which is pronounced "saysh" or "sigh-shh," according to some sources — has apparently been in use in Switzerland as a term for oscillatory waves in lakes since early times and was first used in a scientific context by F.A. Forel, a Swiss seismologist, in 1890.
While the stimulus that created the seiche is present, the amplitude of the waves tends to increase until they cause water to overflow. The seiche may continue for some time after the original stimulus has gone. In large lakes, this phenomenon is very common, but usually very small scale and seldom noticed. Occasionally, however, very large seiches several yards in height can develop, causing flooding and posing a serious danger to people in the lake and on the shore.
Although both can be caused by seismic activity, tsunamis and seiches are quite distinct from one another. A tsunami is a direct result of movement on the ocean floor caused by earthquakes, whereas a seismic seiche results from the seismic waves from an earthquake coinciding in frequency with one of the natural frequencies of a body of water. Seiches and tsunamis can, however, occur together, and in some cases seiche waves can add to the damage caused.
Earthquakes can cause seiche waves in areas very far from the epicenter. The first recorded instance of this phenomenon took place in 1755, when a large earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal produced visible standing waves in several Scottish lochs. There is even an instance of an earthquake in Alaska in 1964 producing standing waves in Australia.
Seiches can also be caused by weather conditions. Water can be set oscillating by the action of wind or by sudden changes in atmospheric pressure. Sometimes high winds will cause water to pile up towards the downwind shoreline, resulting in an oscillation that generates large standing waves — around the Great Lakes of America these are sometimes known as “sloshes.” Some particularly severe sloshes have caused fatalities and damage to boats and shoreline structures.
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Oldest Known Spiderweb Found in Ancient Amber
for National Geographic News
|June 22, 2006|
The oldest known fragment of spiderweb has been found entombed in a piece of 110-million-year-old Spanish amber, | Oldest Known Spiderweb Found in Ancient Amber
for National Geographic News
|June 22, 2006|
The oldest known fragment of spiderweb has been found entombed in a piece of 110-million-year-old Spanish amber, scientists announced today.
The fossil web was found complete with several entangled insects and other small creatures.
Its discovery seems to cement arguments that spiders living in the age of dinosaurs already wove complex aerial webs like those snagging bees and butterflies today.
Experts believe the earliest spiders probably made silk to line burrows or to help pick up vibrations from prey crawling past them.
But no one is sure exactly when so-called orb weaving spiders evolved and began suspending their iconic spiral webs in the air (see a spiderweb photo gallery).
"When you look at the piece, the striking thing is that the geometry of the web and the prey type and size in it are like what one would see today," said David Grimaldi, an invertebrate biology specialist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
"Spiders have been fishing insects from the air for a very long time."
Grimaldi and colleague Enrique Peñalver, along with Xavier Delclòs; of the University of Barcelona in Spain, will publish their findings in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science.
A separate study by a team based at the University of California, Riverside, which also appears in this week's Science, analyzed genetic diversity within two groups of living orb-weaving spiders.
That study concludes that orb-weavers probably first appeared around 136 million years ago, a date that reinforces the amber evidence.
Spiders and many other small creatures are often found trapped in ancient amber. The hard, yellowish material is a fossil form of the sticky sap that oozes from trees such as pines and other conifers.
Amber is considered a gem, and pieces containing intact insects are among those that jewelry makers prize the most.
The newfound amber piece is roughly cylindrical and measures about 0.7 by 0.3 of an inch (18 by 7.5 millimeters).
It comes from fossil-rich amber deposits discovered in the Aragon region of northeastern Spain about seven years ago (map of Spain).
According to the authors, the new find is not only the oldest but also the first known substantial fossilized section of spider web.
The partial web includes 26 strands of silk, some of them joined by cross links, Grimaldi says, which are typical of orb-weaving spider webs.
The only sample comparable to the find is a piece of Lebanese amber 130 million years old that holds a single strand of spider silk (read "Dinosaur-Era Spiderweb Found in Amber").
Both specimens formed during the early Cretaceous period, a time when creatures such as iguanadons were on the scene but well before the arrival of Tyrannosaurus rex.
While there was no spider present in the latest find, the amber did contain a mite, a beetle, a leg from a wasp, and a fly caught by the spider's silk.
The discovery, Grimaldi says, helps researchers understand the evolution of both spiders and their prey.
For example, a long history of hanging webs would mean spiders have been influencing the evolution of flying insects for millions of years.
Jonathan Coddington is a spider expert with the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., who was not involved with the study.
He agrees that even without a spider present, there is little doubt that the webbing is spider silk, because of the tiny, characteristic beads of glue spaced out along several of the strands.
"There is just nothing else that could do it," he sai |
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Bullying has always been an issue in schools, but with the onset of social media, the problem has escalated in recent years.
In an attempt to better arm teachers and parents in the battle | Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Bullying has always been an issue in schools, but with the onset of social media, the problem has escalated in recent years.
In an attempt to better arm teachers and parents in the battle against bullying, Fulton Public Schools have invited Dr. Scott Poland, a nationally-known expert on school crisis/safety and prevention to the district.
On Jan. 18, Poland will be the guest speaker for the district's next professional development day, educating the staff on ways to identify and prevent bullying behavior. At 6 p.m. at the high school, Poland then will offer a similar presentation for area parents, "Parenting in a Challenging World."
According to promotional material, parents will learn how to identify at-risk behaviors in their children, how to recognize and reduce bully behaviors and how to best support their children if they are a target of bullying.
Guidance Counselor Debbie Harris said she and several other Fulton counselors first heard Poland at a recent conference at Lake of the Ozarks, where they were so impressed with what he had to share they returned and asked district administrators to invite him to Fulton, where she said he will speak to all district staff — everyone from cafeteria workers to principals.
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PAIRing up cargo proteins
To sense their environment and respond to it, cells secrete a variety of proteins or display them on their membranes. To mature, such proteins must travel through the secretory pathway, the entry point of which is the | PAIRing up cargo proteins
To sense their environment and respond to it, cells secrete a variety of proteins or display them on their membranes. To mature, such proteins must travel through the secretory pathway, the entry point of which is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). To exit the ER proteins are packaged as cargo in lipid coated vesicles. For this to occur efficiently many cargos require the help of dedicated cargo receptors. Our study takes the first systematic approach to map all cargos that rely on each of the known yeast cargo receptors and lays the foundation for the first cellular traffickome.
HFSP Career Development Award holder Maya Schuldiner and colleaguesauthored on Mon, 04 June 2012
Imagine sorting a pile of thousands of unmatched socks into pairs. Now imagine those pairs are microscopic. That begins to approach the challenge faced by Dr. Maya Schuldiner of the Molecular Genetics Department and her colleagues and students when they set out to identify pairs of proteins – proteins that get transported out of a cellular organelle coupled with the proteins that escort them to their rides. But Schuldiner and her team had some help: They adapted the robotic equipment in her lab to develop a system they call PAIRS, which prepares and sifts through thousands of samples to identify matches.
Scientists have been searching for such pairs for the past 20 years with only partial success. But the issue is vital: The proteins that escorts match up with are hormones, growth factors and various other signaling molecules that are produced for export to other cells or organs, and their activities are implicated in many diseases, from autoimmune syndromes to cancer. A better understanding of the escorts’ functions could point to possible drug targets for treating these diseases.
The first way station for all proteins that either need to make it out of the cell or end up displayed on the cell’s outer surface is the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) – a maze-like organelle composed of folded internal membranes. The proteins entering the ER must get folded into shape as well as undergoing quality control testing before exiting the maze. But leaving for the next way station – the Golgi apparatus – for final sorting and routing, is a much more complex affair than entering. The now functional, folded protein must be enclosed in a bubble of membrane that buds off of the ER, creating a vesicle – a sort of private taxi that delivers its passenger to the Golgi apparatus without letting it contact the cell’s interior. This is where the escorts come into play. They sort and package the proteins – ensuring that only mature proteins leave the ER and in the right vesicles.
Until now, identifying escorts and finding their matches has been something like trying to sort through all those socks by hand, one at a time. That is why only 10 escorts had been identified, and these were matched to only a handful of proteins. And that, says Schuldiner, is not enough to begin to understand the rules of protein trafficking.
To remedy the situation, she and her team, including research student Yonatan Herzig and Dr. Yael Elbaz, together with Prof. Sean Munro and Hayley Sharpe of MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK, decided a more systematic approach was called for. In the PAIRS method they developed, a lab robot prepared and cultured yeast cells. The samples – grown in rows of tiny wells – each contained a yeast strain that had been genetically engineered so that one of 400 different proteins would glow fluorescent green, while one of the ten known escorts was rendered inactive. Producing all the possible combinations – just to find matches for the known escorts – required 4,000 different samples. Then, a second robot automatically scanned images of the cells, looking for a tell-tale green glow that showed that a particular protein was building up in the cell rather than being exported – a sure sign of a match.
For each escort, new passenger proteins were identified. At that point, says Schuldiner, the team could begin to formulate some rules about the ER transport system. For instance, the scientists found that the escorts mainly worked with relatively small protein groups, each of which used just one kind of escort. In some cases, the group of proteins using a particular escort had similar functions; in others, a shared chemical “password” gave them access.
Even more interesting was the one escort protein that seemed to be an exception to the rule: The scientists noted that Erv14 pairs up with an unusually large number of proteins that apparently have nothing in common. After a series of experiments ruled out all sorts of possible factors, the team hit upon the one thing that |
After Congressional bills become laws, federal agencies are responsible for putting those laws into actions through regulations. This process may include the following steps:
1. An agency initiates a rulemaking activity, and adds an entry to its Regulatory Agenda
2. | After Congressional bills become laws, federal agencies are responsible for putting those laws into actions through regulations. This process may include the following steps:
1. An agency initiates a rulemaking activity, and adds an entry to its Regulatory Agenda
2. A rule or other document is published to Regulations.gov
3. The public is given the opportunity to comment on this rule for a specified timeframe
4. Final Rules can be accessed on Regulations.gov
Rules are published every business day by the National Archives and Records Administration in the U.S. government’s Federal Register. You can view the website here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
What is the purpose of the rulemaking process?
The rulemaking process is generally designed to ensure that:
• the public is informed of proposed rules before they take effect;
• the public can comment on the proposed rules and provide additional data to the agency;
• the public can access the rulemaking record and analyze data and analysis behind a proposed rule;
• the agency analyzes and responds to the public’s comments;
• the agency creates a permanent record of its analysis and the process;
• the agency’s actions can be reviewed by a judge or others to ensure the correct procedure was followed.
Where can I find additional information regarding the rulemaking process?
Further information regarding the regulatory process can be found on GSA’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs website:
A graphical illustration of the rulemaking process can be viewed here: |
Based on studies in mice, researchers led by Scripps scientists
say the cause lies in the lining of certain blood
vessels in the lungs. These cells trigger release of
infection-fighting chemicals called cytokines. In some people | Based on studies in mice, researchers led by Scripps scientists
say the cause lies in the lining of certain blood
vessels in the lungs. These cells trigger release of
infection-fighting chemicals called cytokines. In some people,
their production gets out of control, causing what's called a
." This can cause production of excess fluid that fills
tiny air sacs in the lungs and harms other organs.
Moreover, their proposed technique to treat flu doesn't involve
attacking the flu viruses, and therefore shouldn't be vulnerable to
development of viral resistance. And the researchers say a test
could possibly be developed to identify those at highest risk of
dying from the flu.
Cytokine storms are believed to have helped cause the massive
death toll of the 1918-19 flu pan |
I learned a new reason why the number 42 is so cool today.
Imagine a straight tunnel directly through the center of the Earth. Now imagine an unpowered vehicle attached to rails in this tunnel. You get in this vehicle and to start your | I learned a new reason why the number 42 is so cool today.
Imagine a straight tunnel directly through the center of the Earth. Now imagine an unpowered vehicle attached to rails in this tunnel. You get in this vehicle and to start your journey you release the clamps and begin to fall by the power of gravity alone. As you fall toward the Earth's core, you accelerate. Then as you pass the Earth's core, you start to decelerate. It works out (if you ignore wind resistance) that when you reach the surface of the Earth on the other side of the tunnel, you will come to a stop (and engage the clamps to prevent falling back in).
How long would that complete journey take? 42 minutes.
Now imagine a straight tunnel from Los Angeles to New York. This tunnel would cut through the mantle at a shallow angle. A journey through this tunnel would also take 42 minutes in a vehicle powered by gravity alone.
It turns out that a tunnel between any two points on the globe would take 42 minutes to traverse.
So, yeah. 42
(youtube video about this phenomenon) |
Thursday, May 26, 2011
How can paper and glue be used to create works of art to create works of art?
Why would artists choose to work in collage?
1st grade talked about why artists would choose to work solely | Thursday, May 26, 2011
How can paper and glue be used to create works of art to create works of art?
Why would artists choose to work in collage?
1st grade talked about why artists would choose to work solely in paper materials. How does paper work well for an artwork? How is it difficult to use paper in an artwork? Why did they think Matisse used cut paper?
1st grade is also studying insects in their curriculum so we talked about what parts of an insect we would need to build one out of cut paper. We used symmetry in creating our shapes and designing our insects.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
How can artists combine colors using pastels?
How can you recognize artworks created with pastels?
2nd Grade practiced right side of the brain drawing of flowers in their sketchbooks. They chose their best sketch and enlarged it on black paper and then outlined it in glue. They then used warm & cool color schemes to blend their chalk pastels into their glued outlines. |
In The Art of Creative Writing, Lagos Egri states:
Whatever a character does, it is for one basic purpose -- to strengthen his position in life and his security; all the chameleon-like changes for one reason only -- to remain alive, | In The Art of Creative Writing, Lagos Egri states:
Whatever a character does, it is for one basic purpose -- to strengthen his position in life and his security; all the chameleon-like changes for one reason only -- to remain alive, to be secure (overcome insecurities), to be happy, and most of all, to be important.
Never overlook the importance of being important.
Man has nothing more precious to defend than his self-declared importance, and he will defend it with his last breath.
This sounds like a good start to developing a character, or at least a character’s inner conflicts. In fact, this is one of the themes of the grieving woman book I want to write. With her husband gone, so is her sense of self, along with her sense of importance. She might not have been important in the world’s eyes, but she was important in her own eyes because she was important to him. She tries to find importance through other people, but in the end realizes she has to find it in herself.
So, in the book you are now reading (or writing) what makes the character feel important? What does the character do to defend his or her sense of being important? How does the character strengthen his or her position in life? How does s/he struggle to remain secure? What insecurities does s/he have to overcome? Is the character happy? What does s/he do to remain alive, both physically and mentally? Does s/he find happiness? Does s/he find importance? |
Fortran was devised at IBM in the 1950s and was the first high level language; it has been described as a cross between pidgin English and algebra. It revolutionised programming at a time when programmers worked in binary, setting up | Fortran was devised at IBM in the 1950s and was the first high level language; it has been described as a cross between pidgin English and algebra. It revolutionised programming at a time when programmers worked in binary, setting up strings of ones and zeroes, or at best in very low-level assembly languages which still needed programmers to give memory addresses of data fields.
"The efficiency of Fortran compilers has always been a major feature," said Peter Crouch, chairman of the BCS Fortran Specialist Group.
"They generated programs that ran as efficiently - or very nearly as efficiently - as the ones painstakingly hand coded over days or weeks by the programming elite. This led to huge investment in the Fortran code.
"Fortran was the first programming language to be standardised, in 1966. This has meant good portability of programs between computers. Its long history has led to the development of extensive mathematical and engineering libraries for high performance computing on a wide range of computers."
Users include the Meteorological Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Atomic Weapons Establishment, oil companies, the aircraft and automobile industries, engineering consultancies and scientific institutions. It is also used in the finance sector to do complex calculations to analyse market data.
Crouch estimated that there are several thousand organisations in Europe using Fortran applications, although not all are using it to develop new programs.
After the standardisation in 1966 there was a minor revision in 1977 and then a larger gap until another standardisation in 1990, with a further minor revision in 1995. These changes brought in features which extended Fortran's scope, but the long gaps meant that it slipped from the forefront of development and C, C++ and the object-oriented approach took pr |
"Octarine" is a color name coined by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld novels. Octarine is said to be the color of magic, as it is apparent in the crackling and shimmering of light. The word refers to | "Octarine" is a color name coined by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld novels. Octarine is said to be the color of magic, as it is apparent in the crackling and shimmering of light. The word refers to the "eighth color," in a spectrum of black, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, and red. Octarine has been likened to a fluorescent greenish-yellow purple, a combination impossible to perceive with normal human eyes. Imagine, if you can, the marriage of these two swatches |
Cornwall and Plymouth (European Parliament constituency)
|Cornwall and Plymouth
European Parliament constituency
|European Parliament logo|
|Member State||United Kingdom|
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first | Cornwall and Plymouth (European Parliament constituency)
|Cornwall and Plymouth
European Parliament constituency
|European Parliament logo|
|Member State||United Kingdom|
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales. The European Parliament constituencies used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament each.
When it was created in England in 1979, it consisted of the Westminster Parliament constituencies of Bodmin, Falmouth and Camborne, North Cornwall, Plymouth Devonport, Plymouth Drake, Plymouth Sutton, St Ives and Truro. In 1984, Bodmin was replaced by South East Cornwall.
The constituency was replaced by Cornwall and West Plymouth and a small part of Devon and East Plymouth in 1994, and these seats became part of the much larger South West England constituency in 1999.
Members of the European Parliament
|European Parliament election, 1979: Cornwall and Plymouth|
|Liberal||G. H. T. Spring||23,105||13.5||N/A|
|Mebyon Kernow||Richard Jenkin||10,205||5.9||N/A|
|United Against the Common Market||A. E. M. Ash||1,834||1.1||N/A|
|Conservative win (new seat)|
|European Parliament election, 1984: Cornwall and Plymouth|
|Social Democrat||Jonathan Marks||63,876||33.3||+19.8|
|Independent Liberal||Robin Trevallion||2,981||1.6||N/A|
|Cornish Nationalist||James Whetter||1,892||1.0||N/A|
|European Parliament election, 1989: Cornwall and Plymouth|
|Social and Liberal Democrats||Paul Tyler||68,559||30.2||-3.1|
|Mebyon Kernow||Colin Lawry||4,224||1.9||N/A|
In 2009 Cornish party Mebyon Kernow is campaigning for a dedicated Euro-constituency and MEP for Cornwall. Leader Dick Cole said, "This European election represents a huge democratic deficit for the people of Cornwall. Our distinct needs are ignored in the massive South West constituency and we have been poorly served by MEPs not resident in Cornwall. We consider it a nonsense that the European parliamentary constituency stretches from the Isles of Scilly to Bristol via Gibraltar. We hope voters will support our campaign for proper Cornish representation in Europe including a European Parliamentary constituency for Cornwall." |
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BiologyThis crayfish tends to be nocturnal, emerging at night to feed on a broad diet consisting of detritus, animal matter and plants. It also occasionally indulges in cannibalism, particularly on | Brief SummaryRead full entry
BiologyThis crayfish tends to be nocturnal, emerging at night to feed on a broad diet consisting of detritus, animal matter and plants. It also occasionally indulges in cannibalism, particularly on individuals with soft cuticles following their moult (2). Mating takes place in autumn; the eggs develop whilst attached to the mother's abdomen, and the female overwinters with the eggs still attached to her. After the eggs hatch, the juveniles remain attached to the mother before becoming independent at the beginning of summer. During the first year of life, juveniles may moult more than 7 times. After they reach maturity, however, there tends to be an annual moult (2). |
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closed. No points were awarded.
I'm supposed to have a similar question on my final (tomorrow) soif someone could help me out with this i would greatly appreciateit. If its too much work | 0 pts endedThis question is
closed. No points were awarded.
I'm supposed to have a similar question on my final (tomorrow) soif someone could help me out with this i would greatly appreciateit. If its too much work i
understand but if anyone knows whatequations i would use or any explanations of how to solve this typeof problem it would help me out a lot.
Design a 25 W Class B public address amplifier with one input thatwill operate off of a pair of batteries of equal voltages andprovide a voltage gain of 100.
Assume that available op amps have againbandwidth product of 1 MHz and can come within.3V of the railvoltage. A 4-ohm speaker (load) will be used.
a) (10) If the upper frequency limit of the amplifier is to be 20kHz, how many op amps will be needed to provide the necessary gainand bandwidth?
b) (10) Draw your circuit showing component values and biasingincluding quiescent voltage values minimizing component count. Thefrequency response is to go down to
c) (10) What is the minimum value of the battery voltages thatstill meets the power requirement?
d) (10) What input signal is required to drive the amplifier tofull power? |
Scientists Demonstrate Ability to Erase Memories
[ Watch the Video: Wiping Out Bad Memories ]
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jim Carrey played a | Scientists Demonstrate Ability to Erase Memories
[ Watch the Video: Wiping Out Bad Memories ]
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
In the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jim Carrey played a man who had his brain scrubbed of painful memories – only to have them eventually come back to haunt him.
While the selective deletion of memories may sound like science fiction, neuroscientists from The Scripps Research Institute have demonstrated just that in mice and rats, according to their report in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
The Scripps researchers said the technique might be useful for treating people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or battling a drug addiction.
“Our memories make us who we are, but some of these memories can make life very difficult,” said study leader Courtney Miller, a TSRI assistant professor of neuroscience. “Not unlike in the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, we’re looking for strategies to selectively eliminate evidence of past experiences related to drug abuse or a traumatic event. Our study shows we can do just that in mice — wipe out deeply engrained drug-related memories without harming other memories.”
When a memory is created, changes occur to the structure of dendritic spines found on nerve cells. These small, bulb-like structures receive electrochemical transmissions from other neuronsn and structural changes to them normally occur via a protein called actin.
In the new study, the scientists inhibited actin polymerization, a process that results in the creation of large, chainlike molecules. By blocking a molecule called myosin II in mouse and rat brains during the maintenance phase of methamphetamine-associated memory formation, the Scripps scientists were able to disrupt the polymerization process.
Behavioral experiments showed the rodents immediately and reliably lost memories connected with methamphetamine—with no evidence of other memories being affected.
In the experiments, the rodents were trained to relate the ‘rewarding’ sensations of methamphetamine use with a range of strong visual, tactile and scent cues. When they were given the polymerization inhibitor many days later in their same environment, the test subjects demonstrated a complete lack of interest when they were later given drug-associated cues. The subjects’ response to other memories — like food rewards – was unaffected, researchers said.
While the neuroscientists said they aren’t sure why these powerful methamphetamine-related memories are also so delicate, they theorized that the findings could be linked to the role of dopamine, a reward- and pleasure-associated neurotransmitter also known to modify dendritic spines. Previous research has shown dopamine is released during both learning and drug withdrawal.
“We are focused on understanding what makes these memories different,” Miller said. “The hope is that our strategies may be applicable to other harmful memories, such as tho |
Officials urged to improve the lot of disadvantaged children
Governor Muralidhar Chandrakant Bhandare on Saturday released UNICEF's ‘The State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World' appealing authorities | Officials urged to improve the lot of disadvantaged children
Governor Muralidhar Chandrakant Bhandare on Saturday released UNICEF's ‘The State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World' appealing authorities to make world around disadvantaged children better.
“If we look at the national averages for most key child indicators, the advantage urban has over rural is clear. Many children enjoy the advantages of urban life such as schools, clinics and playgrounds, but when breaking down the numbers between urban poor and urban rich, we see a changed scenario,” said Mr. Bhandare.
He said, “we see how a child growing up in an urban poor environment has similar challenges as a child in rural India when it comes to her or his health, nutrition access to water and sanitation, education and protection. A child born in a slum in urban India is as likely to die before her or his first birthday, to become underweight and anaemic or to be married off before her 18 year as a child in rural India.”
“Unfortunately for the urban poor child, the situation most of time not as visible and gets diluted by a much rosier picture or urban life and opportunities. Great inequalities are existent within towns and cities where opportunities and deprivation exist side by side,” said Mr. Bhandare.
Speaking on the occasion, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Bhubaneswar, Shairose Mawji said, “cities will continue to grow and more children will find themselves living in an urban world; In a world where many children will enjoy the advantages of urban life such as schools, clinics and playgrounds. However, the reality is that these advantages will not be shared by all children.”
Ms. Mawji said, “in children less than 3 years of age, when we look at the aggregated data |
Artificial neural networks are nonlinear mapping systems whose structure is loosely based on principles observed in the nervous systems of humans and animals. The basic idea is that massive systems of simple units linked together in appropriate ways can generate many complex and interesting behaviors. This | Artificial neural networks are nonlinear mapping systems whose structure is loosely based on principles observed in the nervous systems of humans and animals. The basic idea is that massive systems of simple units linked together in appropriate ways can generate many complex and interesting behaviors. This book focuses on the subset of feedforward artificial neural networks called multilayer perceptrons (MLP). These are the mostly widely used neural networks, with applications as diverse as finance (forecasting), manufacturing (process control), and science (speech and image recognition).
This book presents an extensive and practical overview of almost every aspect of MLP methodology, progressing from an initial discussion of what MLPs are and how they might be used to an in-depth examination of technical factors affecting performance. The book can be used as a tool kit by readers interested in applying networks to specific problems, yet it also presents theory and references outlining the last ten years of MLP research. |
The combined use of space technologies provides a new perspective in the management of large event situations or natural disasters. ESA's REMSAT concept is being applied in Spain in the framework of the REMFIRESAT contract. The objective of REMFIRESAT | The combined use of space technologies provides a new perspective in the management of large event situations or natural disasters. ESA's REMSAT concept is being applied in Spain in the framework of the REMFIRESAT contract. The objective of REMFIRESAT is to demonstrate the use of satellite technologies in an emergency situation such as uncontrolled wildfire's.
The system, designed following a user driven approach, is to be validated though a comprehensive pilot demonstration that will check the benefits of the application under real crisis situations.
The main satellite technologies to be exploited in the REMFIRESAT system are:
- Satellite communications: providing global coverage, portable terminals, and wide bandwidth capabilities - the last having become, very affordable in the last few years.
- Navigation systems based on satellite assets: like the popular GPS; the decision maker can make an exact determination of the position of their resources.
- Earth Observation from space: demonstrated to be a very powerful tool for the management of disasters and other large event situations.
The satellite systems will work in a synergetic manner with the ground facilities, reaching a more efficient utilisation of available technology.
The initial REMFIRESAT concept envisages handheld terminals, vehicle terminals, a set of Command Centres at user premises and a mobile satellite communication centre to be located close to the fire.
Click here for la |
Thomas Howard Norfolk, 2d duke of
Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 2d duke of, 1443–1524, English nobleman, son of John Howard, 1st duke of Norfolk. He fought at the | Thomas Howard Norfolk, 2d duke of
Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 2d duke of, 1443–1524, English nobleman, son of John Howard, 1st duke of Norfolk. He fought at the battle of Bosworth (1485) in which his father was killed. He himself was captured, attainted, and placed in the Tower of London. He was released (1489) by Henry VII and restored to the earldom of Surrey, which he had received in 1483, but not to the dukedom of Norfolk. He was entrusted by Henry VII with the care of the northern borders and in 1501 was made lord treasurer. Recognized as the leading general in England, he commanded the army that defeated (1513) the Scots at Flodden and was created (1514) duke of Norfolk. Although an influential member of Henry VIII's privy council, he was gradually forced to relinquish much of his power to the ascending Thomas Wolsey. He served as guardian of the realm during Henry's absence in 1520. In 1521, acting as lord high steward, he was compelled to sentence his friend Edward Stafford, 3d duke of Buckingham, to death.
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In the lungs, histoplasma converts to a yeast phase, a vacuolated intracellular parasite similar to Leishmania donovani and L. mexicana, that then disseminates into the liver and spleen. It has | In the lungs, histoplasma converts to a yeast phase, a vacuolated intracellular parasite similar to Leishmania donovani and L. mexicana, that then disseminates into the liver and spleen. It has a predilection for mononuclear phagocytes and grows readily in phagolysosomes. The survival strategy is unclear, but it appears that the organism can alkalinize the phagolysosome to a pH of 6.0 or 6.5, low enough that it can still scavenge iron but high enough to mitigate the effects of acid proteases that are present in the phagolysosome. If the inoculum is sufficiently high with the pulmonary infection, the individual can become moderately to severely ill. In most individuals the infection is self-resolving, often either asymptomatic or with flu-like symptoms. When the immune system is suppressed, however, the organism will disseminate and reactivate to cause progressive disseminated histoplasmosis that, if untreated, can be life-threatening.
When coccidioides enters the lungs it is transformed into spherules that can become quite large, containing up to 1,000 endospores. As with histoplasma, the infection is often self-resolving and asymptomatic, but in an immunocompromised host the organism can disseminate and reactivate, causing Valley fe |
A group of local elementary students is getting a first hand look at where their food comes from.
Cathedral Elementary students in La Crosse harvested a garden they planted back in April.
The students picked fresh spinach, lettuce, and radishes from | A group of local elementary students is getting a first hand look at where their food comes from.
Cathedral Elementary students in La Crosse harvested a garden they planted back in April.
The students picked fresh spinach, lettuce, and radishes from the garden while planting three other kinds of vegetables.
The idea for the garden came from parents and teachers to help students learn how to eat healthy. "The students seem to be really enjoying wha |
Data within the PDS is organized as data sets, which are collections of data observations or products, and associated supplementary files that document and support the use of the data.
A data set usually includes the following components:
- Data products and labels
| Data within the PDS is organized as data sets, which are collections of data observations or products, and associated supplementary files that document and support the use of the data.
A data set usually includes the following components:
- Data products and labels
- Labeled groupings of data resulting from a scientific observation. Labels that provide a field-by-field description of the contents of the associated file accompany PDS data product files. In general each data file has its own label; a single label may be used to reference several distinct files in cases where those files are closely related (chapters of a document, for example). Labels may be attached (stored as part of the data file) or detached (the label is a standalone file with pointers to the associated data product).
- Textual material which describes the mission, spacecraft, instrument, and data set. This can include references to science papers, calibration reports, and other text useful for interpreting the data.
- Catalog Files
- Files containing descriptive information about a data set (e.g., mission description, instrument host description, instrument description).
- Software libraries, utilities, or application programs to access/process the data products.
- Calibration data
- Calibration files used in the processing of the raw data or needed to use the data.
- Geometry data
- Relevant files (e.g., SEDRs, SPICE kernels) needed to describe the observation geometry.
- Information that allows the user to locate the data products of interest, such as a table relating latitude/longitude ranges to file names.
Data sets themselves may be organized into data set collections that consist of data sets that are related by observation type, discipline, target, or time, for a specific scientific purpose. |
3. Word Recognition and Retention Skills
Word recognition is the ability to recognize words as a whole – form and shape of the word, letters present in the word, formation and placement of letters, manipulation of letters and the meaning of the word | 3. Word Recognition and Retention Skills
Word recognition is the ability to recognize words as a whole – form and shape of the word, letters present in the word, formation and placement of letters, manipulation of letters and the meaning of the word. Sometimes children have difficulty recognizing them and so will greatly affect their skills in spelling. Sight reading activities are helpful however, sight reading activities are not just about presenting the whole word as whole in any way, on the table, floor, or on the wall. These are just merely presentation. Sight reading is more than that. Here, we have to guide our child to take notice of every variable present in the word. So to do that, highlighting each letter, and explaining to the child that this letter comes before this letter will be helpful as well. Tracing the letters with his own finger is also helpful. When he traces each letter, it creates a stronger mental map in his memory, making it easier to recall certain words later on.
Sight reading is not about teaching our kids to memorize the words. It is more than that. It is more about teaching our kids ‘how’ to retain words in their memory because it is part of their life and learn to pull the words out in times that they need to use it i.e. spelling, reading. If we do not teach our kids this skills, what will happen is they will be good in decoding words in prints but they will struggle writing them in print. I had another case that is related to this that I would share.
A parent came to us, and so we assessed him and I designed his program. His mother complained that he can read really good, which I proved during the assessment, but his skills in spelling is poor. What happened was, he always, always, interchanges the letters in a word. No matter how simple the word is. He is not dyslexic though that was what the mother suspected in the beginning. To make it short, in his program, we focused on sight reading and a bit of phonics. I did not focus on phonics because I can see there are so many issues going on. There are attention issues, there are some auditory issues but visual is really good. And I used that strength to target the problem. Sight reading is more about enhancing visual memory. And I was glad that it worked for him.
4. Using words in Context
Now that the child has learnt and mastered his skills in spelling, the next question will be, does he know how to use it in context? For a child to be able to learn to spell and then put this words he learnt in context is another challenge. So as parents and teachers, we have to make sure that while doing spelling activities, we not only just learn how to spell. We must also learn the meaning of each word. For a child to learn the meaning of a word quickly, an image attached to it will be very very helpful. When they see an image of the word, they will quickly remember what the word is, then, it will be easy for them to use it in context. Another thing is we can use the words in our daily conversation with our children. That is to keep their memory fresh all the time. Children learn best when they are actually using words in their daily life repeatedly. We can be more creative by encouraging our children to write short stories about certain categories where they have the opportunity to use all the spelling words they learnt. |
Jan. 23, 2008 The history of our development over the last three millennia chronicles many remarkable and fundamental discoveries, such as Archimedes' law of buoyancy, Newton's law of gravity, Poincaré's conject | Jan. 23, 2008 The history of our development over the last three millennia chronicles many remarkable and fundamental discoveries, such as Archimedes' law of buoyancy, Newton's law of gravity, Poincaré's conjecture, which are considered as classical cases of cognitive insight (also popularly known as a Eureka moment), a phenomenon where the problem solver working on a complex problem suddenly makes a breakthrough after a period of frustration and finally experiences the much reported Aha!. But despite the widespread evidence and importance of cognitive insight, very little is known about its constituent cognitive components and their underlying neural mechanism.
Researchers at Goldsmiths College, London investigated brain rhythms and their dynamics while human volunteers solved verbal problems. Often, the participants reached a state of mental block and could not progress further: excessive amount of gamma brain rhythm (the same rhythm gets enhanced with selective attention) might cause this mental road block. It clearly indicates that focusing or attending too much on a topic might have a detrimental effect.
Afterwards, clues were provided yet they were not always successfully utilized, and the researchers found that it was possible to predict the success or failure based on the brain state prior to the clue presentation.
They also found that when the volunteers were consciously aware that they were having a strong breakthrough in their mental strategies, they were less likely to feel the suddenness of Aha!. Bhattacharya and colleagues show that a strong Aha! sensation involves minimal metacognitive (monitoring of one's own thoughts) processes and unconscious restructuring or, better, an automatic, subconscious recombination of information which stands in contrast to conscious mental restructuring which is an attention-demanding process involving executive control. The study shows that it is possible to identify these processes before they reach the level of verbal awareness.
Arguably, insight lies at the core of human intelligence, so its proper understanding in terms of a set of underlying neural mechanisms will not only influence the immediate fields of psychology and cognitive neuroscience but also exert sold impact on a range of scientific and educational disciplines. The pedagogical importance is also noteworthy.
For example, a better understanding of complex problem solving behaviour of human subjects will facilitate a better strategy of teaching and enhancing the performance of pupils, formulation of efficient solution strategies which, in turn, enhances the creativity.
Citation: Sandkühler S, Bhattacharya J (2008) Deconstructing Insight: EEG Correlates of Insightful Problem Solving. PLoS One 3(1): e1459. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0001459 http://www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0001459
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Summary Congress is
dysfunctional, corrupt, and unresponsive to the popular will.
This Constitutional Amendment can permanently solve many of the
The People’s power of initiatives
is extended to the Federal level—giving the people direct
control | Summary Congress is
dysfunctional, corrupt, and unresponsive to the popular will.
This Constitutional Amendment can permanently solve many of the
The People’s power of initiatives
is extended to the Federal level—giving the people direct
control over Congressional legislation, rules, perquisites,
modus operandi, etc. Though the people can handle only a small
portion of the volume of Congressional business, they can
permanently prevent or mitigate the most harmful Congressional
actions and force Congress to act for the Nation's and the
The cost barrier to proposing
initiatives is minimized. This takes initiatives beyond the
control of special interests, whose money currently corrupts
most state and city initiative systems. It permits the best
minds and creativity of the entire American people to find
solutions that are impossible for a dysfunctional and corrupt
The power to handle the volume of
proposed initiatives and select (i.e., qualify) which candidate
initiatives go on the ballot is granted to a super grand jury of
500 who are responsible only to the People and well protected
from outside influence. This takes government and “big money”
entirely out of the initiative process until after the
announcement of the ballot’s candidate initiatives. In effect,
Federal Initiatives become the people’s small but effective
parallel branch of Congress.
The debate on initiatives is
extended via the internet, making direct citizen participation
on proposed initiatives a reality starting when they are first
proposed. The super grand jury of 500 periodically splits into
randomly-selected double-checking 20-member task forces to rank
the proposed initiatives. As the initiatives are sequentially
culled, the full grand jury finally selects the best few
initiatives upon which the People will vote.
Today, 70 percent of US Citizens can vote on state and local
initiatives. The people in the 24 States and in many Cities with
initiatives can effectively force their states to use the second
method of amending the US Constitution. The second method does
not require Congressional support—the Framers of our
Constitution specifically included i |
Phelebotomists are medical professionals who are trained to draw blood from a live person for any number of reasons including blood donations and research.
Educational Requirements: High school diploma or GED
License Requirements: 0 to 6 | Phelebotomists are medical professionals who are trained to draw blood from a live person for any number of reasons including blood donations and research.
Educational Requirements: High school diploma or GED
License Requirements: 0 to 6 month(s) related experience inclusive of on-the-job or classroom training in phlebotomy.
Typical Duties: Performs venipunctures, arterial punctures and capillary sampling to obtain blood samples for laboratory testing. Enters orders for testing and records the specimens in the computer system.
More Information: Contact your local college or trade/vocational school for more information. - IS THIS NECESSARY SINCE THEY ONLY NEED A HIGH SCHOOL DIP OR GED? |
Scarlet fever is a strep throat infection with a rash. Your child will have a sore throat and fever before the rash (usually 18 to 24 hours before). Once your child gets the rash, it will spread all over the body | Scarlet fever is a strep throat infection with a rash. Your child will have a sore throat and fever before the rash (usually 18 to 24 hours before). Once your child gets the rash, it will spread all over the body within 24 hours.
Your child will have:
Scarlet fever is caused by the strep bacteria. The rash is caused by a toxin that is produced by some strep bacteria. The complication rate is no different than the complication rate for a strep throat infection alone.
The red rash usually clears in 4 or 5 days. Sometimes the skin peels in 1 to 2 weeks where the rash was most prominent (for example, the groin). The skin on the fingertips also commonly peels. Your child will stop having a sore throat and fever after taking an antibiotic for 1 or 2 days.
Your child needs the antibiotic prescribed by your healthcare provider.
Try not to forget any of the doses. Give the medicine until all the pills are gone or the bottle is empty. Even though your child will feel better in a few days, give the antibiotic for 10 days to keep the strep throat from flaring up again.
If the medicine is a liquid, store it in the refrigerator. Use a measuring spoon to be sure that you give the right amount.
A long-acting penicillin (Bicillin) injection can be given if your child will not take oral medicines or if it will be impossible for you to give the medicine regularly. (Note: If given correctly, the oral antibiotic works just as rapidly and effectively as a shot.)
Acetaminophen or ibuprofen is very helpful for throat pain. Children over 1 year old can sip warm chicken broth or apple juice. Children over 6 years old can suck on hard candy or lollipops. Also give acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) for fevers over 102°F (39°F). A humidifier helps to keep the air in your child's room moist. This will keep the throat from getting dry and more painful.
The rash itself needs no treatment. It generally clears in 4 to 5 days. If it peels, apply a moisturizing cream.
Your child is no longer contagious after he or she has been on an antibiotic for 24 hours. Therefore, your child can return to school after 1 day if he or she is feeling better. The rash itself is not contagious.
Scarlet fever and strep throat can spread to others in the family. Any child or adult who lives in your home and has a fever, sore throat, runny nose, headache, vomiting, or sores; or who doesn't want to eat; or who develops these symptoms in the next 5 days should have a rapid strep test or throat culture. Usually, your healthcare provider needs to culture only those who are sick. (EXCEPTION: In families where relatives have had rheumatic fever or frequent strep infections, everyone should come in for a test.) Your healthcare provider will call you if any of the tests are positive for strep.
Usually repeat throat cultures are not necessary if your child takes all of the antibiotic. However, if your child continues to have a sore throat or mild fever after treatment is completed, return for a second test. If it is positive, your child will be given a different antibiotic.
Call IMMEDIATELY if:
Call during office hours if: |
Believe it or not, flu season is approaching, and it’s not too early to start thinking about getting your annual vaccination. The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology are advising all people with cardiovascular disease to get a flu shot | Believe it or not, flu season is approaching, and it’s not too early to start thinking about getting your annual vaccination. The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology are advising all people with cardiovascular disease to get a flu shot because their risk of dying from influenza (“the flu”) is higher than that of any other group. Cardiovascular disease (which includes heart disease and stroke) is the most common long-term complication of diabetes.
Although research has shown that people with cardiovascular disease can significantly reduce their chances of dying by getting a flu shot, only one-third of the adults who have it received a flu vaccination in 2005. This year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set the goal of vaccinating at least 60% of people under age 65 who have heart disease and 90% of all people age 65 and over.
In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends an annual flu vaccination for all people over the age of 50, as well as for all adults and children with a chronic medical condition, including diabetes. People who have diabetes have a higher risk of developing complications or dying from the flu than people who don’t, but, according to the CDC, only about 50% get an annual flu shot.
Other groups that should receive an annual vaccination are children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years and 11 months, women who will be pregnant during flu season, and people who live in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities.
It is important to note that people in all of these groups should be vaccinated by injection only, not by the nasal-spray flu vaccine (also called the Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine, or “LAIV”). The nasal-spray vaccine contains weakened live viruses, which can actually trigger the flu in a population with a high risk for influenza-related complications.
To help reach vaccination targets, the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology are urging cardiologists (heart doctors) to stock flu vaccine—so if you have a cardiology appointment coming up, you may be able to get a flu shot then. If not, flu shots should be available from your primary health-care provider, as well as from community health clinics, hospitals, and even some pharmacies. People who are severely allergic to eggs, have had an allergic reaction to a past flu vaccination, or have a history of Guillain-Barré syndrome should not get a flu shot, and people running a fever should postpone their flu shot until after the fever is gone.
It is best to get your flu shot by the end of November, although vaccination even as late as January should help protect you from the flu. Flu season in the United States usually peaks sometime in the first three months of the year.
According to the CDC, people with diabetes are also more likely to die from pneumonia than people without, but only about one-third of people with diabetes get the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (often referred to as the “pneumonia” shot). The shot, which actually helps protect against 23 different infections including meningitis, can be given at any time of year and is usually effective for a lifetime (although people with chronic conditions such as diabetes may need a second shot 5–10 years after the first). Ask your doctor if you could benefit from this vaccine in addition to your flu vaccine. |
- Health & Wellness
- Dr. Frischer
- 826 views
By now, most of us have heard of the class of drugs known as statins, medications prescribed for those with high levels of cholesterol. About 35 million Americans | - Health & Wellness
- Dr. Frischer
- 826 views
By now, most of us have heard of the class of drugs known as statins, medications prescribed for those with high levels of cholesterol. About 35 million Americans take them regularly. Some in the medical community even recommend that all adults take them, much like aspirin, for prevention of atherosclerotic diseases like stroke and heart attack. Is that a good idea? Let's explore.
Statins inhibit the action of an enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) made in the liver, which is necessary for the production of cholesterol. The human body needs cholesterol in order to function, but high levels lead to atherosclerosis, a condition that causes plaques that clog the arteries and increase the risk of stroke and heart attack.
The challenge with statins is to weigh their benefits against their undesirable side effects. There is no question that statins are relatively safe drugs, and they've saved thousands of lives over the past 20 years, particularly in men with established heart disease. But like any drug they can cause problems for some, including muscle aches, increased risk for diabetes, liver enzyme fluctuations, and, gaining recent attention, memory loss.
The most common negative side effect is musculoskeletal, ranging from mild muscle pain (myalgia) to actual damage to the muscles. This happens to 5 - 10% of those taking statins. These symptoms appear to be dose related - the higher the dose, the greater the side effects. Most begin about a month after starting statin therapy or increasing to a higher dose, although these symptoms can take as long as six months to appear. Pain may be widespread, but is more common in the lower extremities.
Another musculoskeletal issue with statins is tendon complications. Approximately 2% of those on statins develop this, ranging from tendonitis to tendon ruptures. These types of symptoms generally occur within eight months of starting therapy. The Achilles heel is the most common tendon affected, with swelling, warmth, stiffness and pain. Aside from ruptures, symptoms clear up after stopping the medication.
The FDA recently issued a warning that taking a statin may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Some studies show as much as a 12% greater risk than for non-statin users. While the statistical benefit of reducing heart attacks far outweighs the risk of developing diabetes, you can bet that this issue is receiving more research attention.
About 10% of patients see liver enzymes |
The Petrarchan sonnet form, also known as the Italian sonnet form, takes its name from being the trademark of the 13th-century Italian poet, Petrarch. It traditionally consists of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter | The Petrarchan sonnet form, also known as the Italian sonnet form, takes its name from being the trademark of the 13th-century Italian poet, Petrarch. It traditionally consists of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter, which are divided into an octave, which is a section of eight lines with a rhyme scheme patterned ABBA ABBA, and a sestet, which is a section of six lines. The sestet's rhyme scheme can take many forms, but it usually appears as CDECDE, CDCDCD, or CDEDCE.
The octave and sestet have special functions in a Petrarchan sonnet. The octave's purpose is to introduce a problem, express a desire, reflect on reality, or otherwise present a situation that causes doubt or conflict within the speaker. It usually does this by introducing the problem within its first quatrain (unified four-line section) and developing it in the second. The beginning of the sestet is known as the volta, and it introduces a pronounced change in tone in the sonnet; the sestet's purpose as a whole is to make a comment on the problem or to apply a solution to it.
Poets adopting the Petrarchan sonnet form take freedoms with it in that they do not necessarily restrict themselves to the strict metrical or rhyme schemes of the traditional Petrarchan form; some use iambic hexameter, while others do not observe the octave-sestet division created by the traditional rhyme scheme. Whatever the changes made by poets exercising artistic license, no "proper" Italian sonnet has more than five different rhymes in it. This rule tends to be more difficult to adhere to when writing in English than when writing in Italian, as Italian has more rhyming words and, thus, more unique words to choose from when composing a sonnet.
Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey are both known for their translations of Petrarch's sonnets from Italian into English. While Howard tended to use the English sonnet form in his own work, reserving the Petrarchan form for his translations of Petrarch, Wyatt made extensive use of the Italian sonnet form in the poems of his that were not translation and adaptation work.
Here is an example of one of Wyatt's own sonnets in the Petrarchan form:
I find no peace, and all my war is done
I fear, and hope. I burn, and freeze like ice.
I fly above the wind, yet can I not arise.
And naught I have, and all the world I seize on.
That loseth nor locketh holdeth me in prison,
And holdeth me not, yet can I'scape nowise;
Nor letteth me live nor die at my devise,
And yet of death it giveth me occasion.
Without eyen I see, and without tongue I plain;
I desire to perish, and yet I ask health;
I love another, and thus I hate myself;
I feed me in sorrow, and laugh at all my pain.
Likewise displeaseth me both death and life,
And my delight is causer of this strife.
Now, just for fun, let's have a sonnet by Petrarch here:
Amor, che nel penser mio vive et regna
e 'l suo seggio maggior nel mio cor tene,
talor armato ne la fronte vene;
ivi si loca et ivi pon sua insegna.
Quella ch'amare e sofferir ne 'nsegna,
e vol che'l gran desio, l'accesa spene,
ragion, vergogna, e reverenza affrene,
di nostro ardir fra se stessa si sdegna.
Onde Amor paventoso fugge al core,
lasciando ogni sua impresa, et piange et trema;
ivi s'asconde et non appar piu fore.
Che poss'io far, temendo il mio signore,
se non star seco infin a l'ora estrema?
che bel fin fa chi ben amando more.
The literal translation of the above would be as follows:
Love, who lives and rules in my thought
and holds his chief seat in my heart,
sometimes armed comes into my face;
and there makes camp and places his banner.
She who teaches me to love and suffer,
and wants reason, shame, and respect restrain
my great desire and burning hope
takes offense inwardly at our ardor.
Therefore Love, fearful, flees to the heart,
abandoning it all, and cries and shakes;
he hides himself, and is seen abroad no more.
What can I do, when my master is afraid,
except stand with him to the bitter end?
He makes a fine end, who dies loving well!
Here is Henry Howard's translation and adaptation:
Love, that doth reign and live within my thought,
And built his seat within my captive breast,
Clad in the arms wherein with me he fought,
Oft in my face he doth his banner rest.
But she that taught me love and suffer pain,
My doubtful hope and eke my hot desire
With shamefast look to shadow and refrain,
Her smiling grace converteth straight to ire.
And coward Love, then, to the heart apace
Taketh his flight, where he doth lurk and plain,
His purpose lost, and dare not show his face.
For my lord's guilt thus faultless bide I pain,
Yet from my lord shall not my foot remove:
Sweet is the death that taketh end by love.
And here is Sir Thomas Wyatt's translation and adaptation:
The long love that in my thought doth harbor,
And in mine heart doth keep his residence,
Into my face presseth with bold pr |
The Brickfielder is a strong, hot, dry and dusty wind in southern Australia. The Brickfielder usually occurs during summer and is mainly affecting southeast Australia's states of
Victoria and New South Wales. The Brickfielder is associated with | The Brickfielder is a strong, hot, dry and dusty wind in southern Australia. The Brickfielder usually occurs during summer and is mainly affecting southeast Australia's states of
Victoria and New South Wales. The Brickfielder is associated with the passage of a frontal zone of a low pressure. Preceding the passage of the front tropical, hot, dry north-westerly desert air from the interior of Australia is carrying clouds of dust and bringing sudden
hot spells, often exceeding 38C (100F), to areas which n |
John Blish was born in Seymour, Ind., 8 September 1860 and was appointed Cadet Midshipman 18 September 1875. From 1879 to 1901 he served the Navy both on the high seas and | John Blish was born in Seymour, Ind., 8 September 1860 and was appointed Cadet Midshipman 18 September 1875. From 1879 to 1901 he served the Navy both on the high seas and on various shore duty. On 5 October 1901 he was commissioned Lieutenant Commander; then served until he retired 6 July 1905.
John Blish was appointed Commander on the retired list 13 April 1911. During World War I he served in the 1st Naval District as assistant to the Commandant, and commanded the Naval Air Station at Squantum, Mass. Comdr. Blish was detached 29 October 1919. In addition to his exemplary naval car |
Scientists have found a biochemical process that makes exhaust from diesel engines a danger to human arteries. An interaction between the fine particles found in diesel smoke and the fatty acids in low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) triggers genes that cause inflammation | Scientists have found a biochemical process that makes exhaust from diesel engines a danger to human arteries. An interaction between the fine particles found in diesel smoke and the fatty acids in low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) triggers genes that cause inflammation in the blood vessels. The process speeds up atherosclerosis.
The mechanism is one way that?chemicals in diesel exhaust impact the cardiovascular (CV) system,? according to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. Their research was reported in the July 26, 2007, online edition of Genome Biology.
The investigators conducted a series of studies in which they combined particulate diesel pollutants with fatty acids found in LDLs and studied how the substances interacted with free radicals. They exposed cells to the mixture and extracted genetic material from the cells.
The researchers found that the genes that promote the inflammation of cells were highly activated by the exposure. They concluded that?for people who have CV risk factors... exposure to diesel air pollution can enhance damage.?
A finding by researchers in both Denmark and the United States shows that high levels of triglycerides are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular (CV) problems, but only if they are measured in the hours right after a meal.
The Denmark study found no relationship when the levels were tested in the usual manner: after a 12- to 14-hour fast. The nonfasting results, however, were considerably different: women with the highest triglyceride levels when tested after a meal had up to 5 times the risk of dying from a heart attack or other CV event as those with the lowest levels; men had twice the risk.
The American study looked at more than 25,000 participants in the Women?s Health Study who were followed for an average of 11 years. This study found that women with high triglyceride levels soon after a meal had a 44% increased risk of a CV event. This risk decreased steadily with time, disappearing after ~4 hours.
The results of both studies were published in the July 18, 2007, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine conducted a meta-analysis of 23 different trials involving statins. The researchers examined the records of 41,173 patients to determine adverse effects and found that there was a slight increase in cancer incidence in 13 |
grandfather clock, also called longcase clock,
© Rago Arts/Shutterstock.comtall pendulum clock enclosed in a wooden case that stands upon the floor and is typically 1.8 to 2.3 metres (6 to | grandfather clock, also called longcase clock,
© Rago Arts/Shutterstock.comtall pendulum clock enclosed in a wooden case that stands upon the floor and is typically 1.8 to 2.3 metres (6 to 7.5 feet) in height. The name grandfather clock was adopted after the song “
Grandfather’s Clock,” written in 1876 by Henry Clay Work, became popular. The first grandfather clocks featured a Classical architectural appearance, but a variety of styles have enjoyed popularity over the years. One form of early pendulum clock was wall-mounted but, because of its heavy lead weights, probably difficult to secure. It is believed that the grandfather clock was developed to support these heavier clock mechanisms. |
Growing Watermelon Practical Tips
Only a few people are aware that the origin of watermelon is from Africa, however, growing watermelon is popular almost everywhere, as it is one of the favorite fruits for both old and young. It is well | Growing Watermelon Practical Tips
Only a few people are aware that the origin of watermelon is from Africa, however, growing watermelon is popular almost everywhere, as it is one of the favorite fruits for both old and young. It is well liked for its added advantage to grow during the entire year. Watermelon has a large water content and is rich in nutrients which are very useful to the human body. This fruit is liked by huge numbers of people for its unique feature of possessing several vitamins and nutrients which act as a good source in providing essential elements to the human body.
Watermelon is one of the many healthy fruits which can be grown right in your home garden. It requires plentiful of sunlight, a good amount of water and some space. As it originates from Africa, it requires a very hot climate for its growth. It grows for only 3 months. The soil for growing water melon should be fertile and rich in manure; it also requires lot of sunlight in addition to water and fertilizers. As the saying goes, all great things require proper fruit and vegetable garden planning plus plenty of time; even growing water melon needs a lot of time.
For growing water melons, just like for instance for growing broccoli, soil is considered as one of the important elements which, should be rich in fertile and manure. Firstly to grow watermelons seeds are to be sown in the soil. The temperature must be around 25 degree Celsius. The seeds should be planted deep about one inch into the soil and five feet away from one plant to another. It provides enough space for the plants to grow. The soil used for growing should be rich in fertile with manure which makes the process easy to grow watermelons. The plant gets enough nutrition if the soil is rich in manure and fertile which helps to get rid of bugs which usually affect the plant. Some of the experts suggest using nitrogen and phosphorus which is beneficial in the growth of the plants in addition to plenty of water. Make use of plastic mulch to cover the plants in order not to get spoiled.
When is it time to reap the fruit? The time to reap is calculated by tapping the fruit. It’s ready if the sound is hollow. Watermelons turn yellowish if they are ready. The stem of the water melon dies once the fruit becomes ripe. When you see these signs, it’s time to reap the tasty fruit.
Growing watermelon can test your patience as it takes a considerable amount of time to grow, but the rewards are well worth while.
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15 New Reasons to Bird the Amazon
Maybe the name of this blog should be 10,015 birds. That would reflect the number of new species discovered in the Amazon rainforest over the past five years or so, according to scientists. The | 15 New Reasons to Bird the Amazon
Maybe the name of this blog should be 10,015 birds. That would reflect the number of new species discovered in the Amazon rainforest over the past five years or so, according to scientists. The ornithologists considered plumage, voice, and genetics in making their determinations; birds had to differ from known species in in at least two of those qualities to be considered new.
The new birds inhabit the southern portion of the Amazon, some only in Brazil but others in Bolivia and Peru as well. Of the bunch, 14 are passerines. The 15th is grouped in the Bucconidae family and appears similar to a Striolated Puffbird. They bear wonderful-sounding names like “Can-can-da-campina.”
The Rapazinho-estriado-do-oeste is the only non-passerine among the 15 new birds.
(Both images by Vitor de Q. Piacentini)
One thing the birds seem to have in common is the threat to their habitat. They’re described as living in “the arc of deforestation,” which can’t be good. So try to see them while you can!
If you want to learn more, the scientists’ findings will be included in a new volume of the Handbook of the Birds of the World, which is scheduled to be released this month. (It also includes a global index to the whole series of books.) |
Alopecia is a general term that denotes a loss of hair. For the purposes of this genetic disease library, however, we will restrict our discussion of alopecia to the kinds of localized hair loss known to have a hereditary basis in dogs | Alopecia is a general term that denotes a loss of hair. For the purposes of this genetic disease library, however, we will restrict our discussion of alopecia to the kinds of localized hair loss known to have a hereditary basis in dogs.
“Focal, non-inflammatory alopecia” is the well-accepted veterinary term for this condition. It occurs in certain breeds of dogs over specific areas of the body: The head, the ears, the chest, the belly and the thighs are often affected.
Various forms of hereditary alopecia have been identified: Pinnal alopecia, pattern baldness, post-clipping alopecia, post-injection alopecia (usually after rabies vaccination), color dilution alopecia and alopecia areata are the most commonly described forms of focal, non-inflammatory alopecia. Follicular dysplasia, another form of non-inflammatory alopecia, is treated separately for the purposes of this genetic disease library.
Endocrine disorders, skin infections, allergic skin disease, immune system dysfunction and other conditions may factor into the presence or severity of these alopecic conditions.
With the heritable versions of alopecia, no other symptoms of disease are usually present. It tends to be considered a purely cosmetic problem.
Symptoms and Identification
Hair loss is the principal symptom. The pattern of loss varies depending on the form of the alopecia.
- Pinnal alopecia: The ear flaps are primarily affected.
- Pattern baldness: Hair loss over and behind the ears, the legs and the belly is common with this version. In affected dogs it begins at around six months and progresses to near-complete hair loss over the next 12 months. Females are predisposed.
- Post-clipping alopecia: This occurs, usually in heavy-coated breeds, over areas that have been recently clipped (as for surgery or as is often done in warmer climates).
- Post-injection alopecia: This appears as a patch of hair loss confined to an area of recent rabies vaccination.
- Alopecia areata: The head and neck are most likely to suffer alopecia but the loss of hair can happen anywhere on the body with this disease. Over time, the areas of hair loss may turn grey or black with extra pigment deposition.
- Color dilution alopecia: Generalized hair loss, skin dryness and bumps related to secondary infection of the hair follicle are typically seen starting in 6 month-old pups and progressing into adulthood.
In all cases, biopsy of the skin is indicated, as is basic blood testing to rule out other skin-related systemic disorders, particularly of the endocrine or autoimmune variety.
Addison’s disease appears to be more prevalent in the following breeds:
- Pinnal alopecia: Dachshunds are affected most commonly. Italian Greyhounds, Chihuahuas, Boston Terriers, and Whippets may also be affected.
- Pattern baldness: It’s common in Dachshunds but also in short-coated breeds like Boxers, Boston Terriers, Chihuahuas, Whippets, Manchester Terriers, Greyhounds, and Italian Greyhounds.
- Post-clipping alopecia: Arctic breeds like Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Keeshonds and Samoyeds. German Shepherds, Chow Chows and Labrador Retrievers can also be affected.
- Post-injection alopecia: Toy or small-breed dogs, especially Poodles, but also Bichon Frises, Shih-tzus, and Yorkshire and Silky Terriers.
- Color dilution alopecia: This disease is seen in Dobermans, primarily, but Bernese Mountain Dogs, Salukis and blue colored dogs of the following breeds are also predisposed: Chihuahuas, Chow Chow, Dachshund, Great Dane, Irish Setter, Miniature Pinscher, Schipperke, Shetland Sheepdog, Standard Poodle, Whippet, Yorkshire Terrier.
Most alopecia cases are untreatable, per se. However, treating secondary symptoms (such as skin infections) and complicating diseases (such as hypothyroidism) are a necessary adjunct in many hereditary alopecia cases.
The drug etretinate and the supplement melatonin have been reported to have some degree of efficacy treating some forms of hereditary alopecia.
Untreatable as the hereditary forms of alopecia are, the cost of diagnosis is typically the full extent of the expenses owners with affected dogs incur. This is normally confined to the cost of basic skin biopsies and the labwork required to rule out alternative causes and/or ensure no underlying diseases are complicating the condition.
There is no known means of prevention save genetic counseling which would serve to eliminate affected dogs and their Preventing hereditary alopecia is usually accomplished through breeding management. Affected dogs and all their first degree relatives should not be bred.
Rosenbaum, Michele, 2001. Focal, non-inflammatory alopecia: A diagnostic, treatment challenge. DVM Newsmagazine.
Scott, D.W., Miller, W.H., Griffin, C.E. 1 |
Plant Garden Peas
Peas are cool season vegetables that germinate in cold soil. Plant them according to packet directions as soon as the soil thaws enough to dig. St. Patrick's Day is the traditional planting date. Place tree branches | Plant Garden Peas
Peas are cool season vegetables that germinate in cold soil. Plant them according to packet directions as soon as the soil thaws enough to dig. St. Patrick's Day is the traditional planting date. Place tree branches - pea stakes - between the seeds for pea vines to twine.
Start Cool-Season Greens Indoors Under Grow-Lights
Early spinach, spring mix, lettuces, Chinese cabbage, and kale are easy to start indoors in sterile soilless mix. Be sure plastic containers and six-packs are clean and sterilized. Fertilize seedlings with highly diluted kelp for strong plants and make sure seedlings get plenty of light.
Fertilize Spring Bulbs When You See Green
When daffodil, tulip, and crocus foliage pops up, sprinkle the surrounding soil with good quality bulb fertilizer. Water in or apply before a rain so water transports the fertilizer's nutrients to bulb roots. This will help with spring bloom and enrich the bulb for next year's flowers.
Test Your Garden Soil for Nutrients and pH
Apply fertilizer or agricultural lime only if you know your garden soil is deficient in nutrients or the pH is off. Test vegetable and ornamental gardens' soils with analysis kits from the state extension service. They're available online. Take soil samples as directed. Mail samples to the state college lab. For a small fee, you'll receive a detailed soil analysis and specific amendment instructions.
Ease Into Gardening With Early Spring Workouts
Welcome spring gardening with toned muscles. Avoid strained, sore body parts. Start walking and exercis |
Hydrogen fuel cells, like those found in some "green" vehicles, have a lot of promise as an alternative fuel source, but making them practical on a large scale requires them to be more efficient and cost effective.
A research team from | Hydrogen fuel cells, like those found in some "green" vehicles, have a lot of promise as an alternative fuel source, but making them practical on a large scale requires them to be more efficient and cost effective.
A research team from the University of Central Florida may have found a way around both hurdles.
The majority of hydrogen fuel cells use catalysts made of a rare and expensive metal – platinum. There are few alternatives because most elements can't endure the fuel cell's highly acidic solvents present in the reaction that converts hydrogen's chemical energy into electrical power. Only four elements can resist the corrosive process – platinum, iridium, gold and palladium. The first two are rare and expensive, which makes them impractical for large-scale use. The other two don't do well with the chemical reaction.
UCF Professor Sergey Stolbov and postdoctoral research associate Marisol Alcántara Ortigoza focused on making gold and palladium better suited for the reaction.
They created a sandwich-like structure that layers cheaper and more abundant elements with gold and palladium and other elements to make it more effective.
The outer monoatomic layer (the top of the sandwich) is either palladium or gold. Below it is a layer that works to enhance the energy conversion rate but also acts to protect the catalyst from the acidic environment. These two layers reside on the bottom slice of the sandwich -- an inexpensive substrate (tungsten), which also plays a role in the stability of the catalyst.
Stolbov said experiments are needed to test their predictions, but he says the approach is quite reliable. He's already working with a group within the U.S. Department of Energy to determine whether the results can be duplicated and have potential for large-scale application.
If a way could be found to make hydrogen fuel cells practical and cost effective, vehicles that run on gasoline and contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer could become a thing of the past.
Stolbov joined UCF's physics department in 2006. Before that he was a research assistant professor at Kansas State University. He earned multiple degrees in physics from Rostov State University in Russia and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C. He is a frequent international speaker and has written dozens of articles on physics.
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UCF Stands For Opportunity --The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the second largest |
|Index to this page|
These cells have a number of direct functions, but they get their name from the help they provide to other types of effector cells, such as B cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). The help | |Index to this page|
These cells have a number of direct functions, but they get their name from the help they provide to other types of effector cells, such as B cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). The help consists of secreted cytokines that stimulate the helped cells.
|Link to drawing showing the anatomy of the lymphatic system, including the location of the thymus (52K).|
|Discussion of how antigens are presented to T cells|
|More on dendritic cells.|
The paracrine stimulation by these cytokines causes the Th1 cells to secrete their own lymphokines:
Th2 cells are produced when antigen-presenting cells (APCs) present antigen (e.g., allergens) to the T cell's receptor for antigen (TCR) along with
The identity of the APCs for Th2 responses is still uncertain. Some research indicates that basophils are the APCs, but other research questions this role.The major lymphokines secreted by Th2 cells are
|Link to graphic showing how Th2 cells stimulate B cells to mature into antibody-secreting plasma cells.|
|Two transcription factors have been found that play a critical role in the choice between becoming a Th1 or a Th2 cell.
GATA3 produces Th2 cells by
The antigenic stimulus that sends pre-Th cells down one path or the other also sets the stage for reinforcing the response.A Th1 response inhibits the Th2 path in two ways:
Chemokines are cytokines that are chemotactic for (attract) leukocytes. The members of one group, who share a pair of adjacent cysteine (C) residues near their N-terminal, are designated CC chemokines.
Chemokines bind to receptors on the responding leukocyte. The receptors are transmembrane proteins with the chemokine binding site exposed at the surface of the plasma membrane. CC chemokine receptors are designated CCR.
With their different functions, we might expect that Th1 cells and Th2 cells would respond differently to chemokines. And so they do.
One chemokine that binds to CCR3 is called eotaxin. It is secreted by epithelial cells and phagocytic cells in regions where allergic reactions are occurring.CCR3 is found on
|One striking illustration: an AIDS patient with leukemia was given a bone marrow |
Program wordTabulator is intended for text analysis. With help of wordTabulator you can generate index of word elements extracted from defined text set. Word elements may be words, N-grams (of defined size) or phrases (syntagmes | Program wordTabulator is intended for text analysis. With help of wordTabulator you can generate index of word elements extracted from defined text set. Word elements may be words, N-grams (of defined size) or phrases (syntagmes). The program can process texts as in ordinary 1-byte encoding (ANSI), as in multibyte UTF-8 encoding.
Source texts are define |
European scientists studying global carbon dioxide emissions, which make up most of the greenhouse gases that are being released in to the atmosphere through human activity and are driving climate change, are offering a ray of hopeful news.
While emissions continue to rise, they are | European scientists studying global carbon dioxide emissions, which make up most of the greenhouse gases that are being released in to the atmosphere through human activity and are driving climate change, are offering a ray of hopeful news.
While emissions continue to rise, they are slowing down – and that could be a permanent development, say researchers at the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, which together release an annual report.
Overall global carbon dioxide emissions reached a new record of 34.5 billion tonnes in 2012, the report summary released on Thursday points out.
But the rate of growth appears to be slowing – and that is the silver lining in what is still seen by many politicians and scientists as an urgent global crisis that requires governments and businesses to set – and meet – targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2012, the report states, carbon dioxide emissions went up 1.1 per cent – or “less than half the average annual increase of 2.9% over the last decade.” That figure impressed researchers in a year when there was reasonable economic growth of 3.5 per cent.
“This development signals a shift towards less fossil-fuel-intensive activities, more use of renewable energy and increased energy saving,” the report adds.
Behind the slowdown are three of the world’s largest overall emitters of carbon dioxide, which account for more than half of the emissions: China, the United States and the European Union.
China, with its robust economic growth, has seen carbon dioxide emissions jump by an average of 10 per cent every year over the past decade, but in 2012, it rose by 3 per cent. Researchers were further encouraged by a drop of 4 per cent in emissions in the United States, and a 1.6-per-cent decline in the European Union last year.
An Environment Canada report released last week projected a mainly flat trend line in greenhouse gas emissions with an increase in the years leading up to 2020 and the federal government missing its own targets to reduce emissions.
"The general picture remains that most sectors and regions reduced their emissions in absolute te |
While the goal of any good activism campaign is both to get people to care about the cause and get them to take action, doing both is harder than it seems.
This is often because the way in which we present our cause provokes either an | While the goal of any good activism campaign is both to get people to care about the cause and get them to take action, doing both is harder than it seems.
This is often because the way in which we present our cause provokes either an emotional response or direct action from the average person, but lacks a connection between the two. So how can we fix that?
The first step in connecting with people emotionally is to present the cause in a personal context. The Human Wrong Initiative uses story cards—among other techniques—to make the cause more personal. By reading real stories of children who were victims of human trafficking and slavery, we feel a closeness and empathy that is unparalleled by a mere statistical statement.
If personal stories are not available or applicable to your topic, visual aids like movies and pictures also help to put a face to a cause. Although the average student doesn’t have to confront these issues every day, something as simple as putting a face or voice to a cause can inspire a desire to help.
As important as awareness is, it can be tempting to stop there and call it a day. However, without an outlet for their sentiments, people quickly forget who they were supposed to be caring about and go right back into their daily routines.
The next step is to prompt people to take action in a practical, accessible way. Some easy ways are to ask for donations (if this is applicable), signatures on petitions, or letters to government officials. These things can be done on the spot and are easily incorporated into the first step mentioned above.
However, alone these examples won’t create sustainable interest. One way to keep people involved is to publically update them on the cause’s progress in the school paper or advertising media. Letting them know that the issue hasn’t been resolved and requires continued attention will keep it fresh in people’s minds and generate more participation in your next event.
Don’t forget to let people know that their individual efforts are significant to the success of the cause. If people don’t understand that their individual actions make a difference, they are unlikely to participate, thinking that someone else will do it instead. Using statistics here, such as the cost of a meal or a mosquito net ($6), can be very effective.
An example of an event that publicizes itself in a w |
Using iBCS2 Under Linux
iBCS2 emulation under Linux is a relatively new feature that offers you the ability to take an application that was designed to run under a system such as SCO Unix or SVR4 and run it directly | Using iBCS2 Under Linux
iBCS2 emulation under Linux is a relatively new feature that offers you the ability to take an application that was designed to run under a system such as SCO Unix or SVR4 and run it directly on your machine running Linux. This feature is most useful for commercial applications for which the source code is not publicly available, and therefore would be impossible to simply port to Linux. In this article, I will give you an introduction to iBCS2 and tell you how to install the emulation code on your system in order to run iBCS2 programs. There will be future articles that will explain some elements in more depth.
by Eric Youngdale
The reason that iBCS2 is of interest is that there are a lot of commercial applications available for both SCO and SVR4 which people would like to run under Linux. The vendors who write these applications are often reluctant to port their application to a new platform such as Linux until they are sure that they will sell a lot of copies, and so there is no guarantee that a Linux port would ever be done. By providing iBCS2 compatibility, we suddenly make it possible to run hundreds of commercial quality applications under Linux.
At the time of this writing the iBCS2 code for Linux is still in ALPHA status. This means that you may experience problems; some applications will not run or will do the wrong thing. It also means that you are expected to have some familiarity with patching the kernel. That being said, there are only a few areas where work is still being done, and once these are complete the whole thing will become BETA. This may have already happened by the time you read this.
Th |
( Originally Published 1917 )
The oyster a general favorite. One of the oldest foods known to the human race is the oyster. History has it that primitive man to a great extent depended upon the oyster and other shellfish for | ( Originally Published 1917 )
The oyster a general favorite. One of the oldest foods known to the human race is the oyster. History has it that primitive man to a great extent depended upon the oyster and other shellfish for his food.
While Canada, Holland, Italy, England, Belgium, Japan, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Norway, and Russia have all at some time or another counted oyster fishing among their industries, France and the United States are the only countries where it has reached large proportions. Of these two countries, our own maintains by far the more extensive oyster beds.
We are all fond of this wholesome food, which neither abundance nor cheapness can make common. Whether placed before us stewed, fried, steamed, or raw on the half shell, there are few of us that can withstand the appeal this shellfish makes to our palates. And in Europe, the land of delicacies and of epicures, we find the oyster almost supreme. The Parisian queen of fashion gives the oyster first place on her elaborate menu; the English hostess at the country place features this fruit of the sea at her week-end dinners; and the frugal wife of the Dutch peasant gives it the place of honor at her simple table.
The American oyster abroad. We export many thousand gallons of shelled or "shucked" oysters and many thousand bushels of unshelled oysters each year to Europe and to other parts of the world. One may purchase Chesapeake Bay oysters in Russia, France, South Africa, Japan, Australia, or any other country where there is wealth enough to allow men and women to satisly their taste for foods brought from a long distance.
It Is usually conceded throughout the world that the oysters of American waters arc the finest grown anywhere. In many parts of Europe the most discriminating diners request that they be served American oysters and will accept as substitutes for these only the small, delicate product from the Dutch waters.
Nationalizing the oyster. Few changes that have affected our national food supply in recent years are more important or wonderful than the nationalization of the oyster. There are men who can recall the time when fresh oysters were a rare delicacy to the inhabitants of this country, except along the seashore. Today they are obtainable any time in the season almost anywhere in the United States, and at a price that puts them within reach of persons of the most moderate means. This has been made possible through the great progress made in the methods of handling and. shipping oysters so that they may be carried far inland without spoiling.
"Cove oysters." Before a system had been developed for the safe transportation of fresh oysters to remote parts of the country, a method was devised of steaming the bivalves and packing them in hermetically sealed, or airtight, cans. These are known as "cove oysters," and are popular even where fresh oysters can be had.
Oysters for inland markets. Because of the wonderful improvements in handling and forwarding this most delicate and perishable of foods to points far in the interior of this great country, our nation has, within late years, built up a mighty trade in oysters. To-day there is hardly a hamlet so remote from the seashore or from the centers of civilization that its inhabitants do not celebrate the coming of September with an oyster supper. These fetes continue until the letter "r" disappears from the name of the current month.
The rancher, the lumberman, the miner, and all who work in the more isolated inland localities are almost sure to celebrate their appearance in town with a feast of oysters. At the same time the rulers of the, earth, and those who live in the capitals of fashion and are free to indulge their taste without thinking of expense, can order nothing more tempting.
We have much reason to feel grateful that this country has a vast natural supply of oysters—by far the richest of any country in the world—and that the development of rapid transportation, of refrigerator cars, and refrigerated shipping containers has made it possible to place the oyster—in season—on the tables of families in almost any part of the United States.
Oyster culture in America. At one time it seemed that our great natural supply of oysters was doomed to destruction through the greed of the men who were permitted to take this rich harvest from the sea.
So rapidly were our native oyster beds being destroyed, and with such vicious disregard of all laws and the common good, that public opinion finally brought pressure to bear on lawmakers to stop this wanton waste.
It was then that the ancient and neglected practice of oyster culture was suggested, together with adequate laws to govern the gathering |
The microform collections in the State Library of NSW consist of roll microfilm (both 16mm and 35mm) and microfiche (sheets of film, 15 x 10.5 cm, with frames of information in a | The microform collections in the State Library of NSW consist of roll microfilm (both 16mm and 35mm) and microfiche (sheets of film, 15 x 10.5 cm, with frames of information in a grid pattern). Staff will assist clients in the use of microforms on the available viewing equipment.
In order to preserve frail, original materials from deterioration through repeated handling by clients and staff, microform copies have been made of a wide range of published and unpublished Library materials. When items held in the Library have been microfilmed for preservation reasons, clients will be issued with the microfilm or microfiche copies when the copied items are requested.
Microforms have also been acquired of material held in other institutions and in private hands, both in Australia and overseas, when these supplement the Library’s holdings. The Mitchell Library for example, holds on microfilm some significant Australian and Pacific documents copied from the originals held in Sp |
Editor’s introduction: The Washington Redskins case, the
Race is not simply about the physical description of human variation. Since its origin in Western science in the eighteenth century, race has been used both to classify and rank human beings according to inferior | Editor’s introduction: The Washington Redskins case, the
Race is not simply about the physical description of human variation. Since its origin in Western science in the eighteenth century, race has been used both to classify and rank human beings according to inferior and superior types.
Not too long ago, the United States’ explicit policy regarding Native Americans was termination. The goal was to marginalize and eradicate Native people and cultures.
Madeline Colliflower, known to her relatives as Si-Siya, walked on in her 81st year back in 2000, the cusp of the 21st century. She was one of a few surviving FBI (Full-Blooded Indian) citizens of the Gros Ventre.
Media, for many indigenous peoples of this country, continues to be a double-edged sword, with a history containing moments of both immense pride and interminable consequences.
Growing-up on the Indian-Negro color line (I am the daughter of a European mother and a black and Indian father), I lived with mixed signals and coded information by the dominant
Indian Country Today Media Network staff recently posted
In 1898, just eight years after the Wounded Knee Massacre, the U.S. Congress passed a bill that created a new federal facility: The Hiawatha Asylum for Insane Indians.
We know that acts of genocide were perpetrated on our people because we refused to be separated from our lands.
It is predictable. At Halloween, thousands of children (and adults) trick-or-treat in Indian costumes. At Thanksgiving, thousands of children parade in school pageants wearing plastic headdresses and pseudo-buckskin clothing.
Halloween is fast approaching, and little monsters everywhere are scrambling for costumes.
A few weeks ago, I read the following paragraph in an NPR article about the Cherokee Freedmen:
"This is not a club; you can't just claim to be Cherokee and show up and be included," says Cara Cowan Watts, a vocal member of the Cherokees' tribal council.
All journeys have a beginning and an ending. No matter how large or small the endeavor, it begins, and—at some point—it will most assuredly come to an end. The substance of the journey is everywhere in between the start and finish of it.
The Cherokee Nation based out of Tahlequah, Oklahoma has decided to strip “Freedmen” of their Cherokee rights and to expel them from their nation. Freedmen are African American descendants of slaves. |
According to The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, “ordinal numbers are adjectival forms, ending in -st, -nd, -rd, -th, setting the named item “in order”. To a grade-schooler or a student | According to The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, “ordinal numbers are adjectival forms, ending in -st, -nd, -rd, -th, setting the named item “in order”. To a grade-schooler or a student learning English as a second language, this seemingly arbitrary system could be quite confusing. “Miss Othmar, why can’t the runner come in 2rd?” While you’re reminiscing about your grade school grammar report cards, here’s some more food for thought: the Japanese language has a counting system based on the shape of an object.
3nd appears 14 times in OhioLINK, and was in high probability at the time it was added to the Ballard List. 3nd also turns up 289 keyword search hits in WorldCat. A majority of these errors occur in subject headings for international and overseas conferences. In some cases where the error appears in the title, the astute catalogers have transcribed it as it appeared on the chief source of information, as evidenced by the use of the Latin sic.
(Jules et Jim, the infamous love triangle.) |
The early history of Russia, like those of many countries, is one of migrating peoples and ancient kingdoms. In fact, early Russia was not exactly "Russia," but a collection of cities that gradually coalesced into an empire. I n the | The early history of Russia, like those of many countries, is one of migrating peoples and ancient kingdoms. In fact, early Russia was not exactly "Russia," but a collection of cities that gradually coalesced into an empire. I n the early part of the ninth century, as part of the same great movement that brought the Danes to England and the Norsemen to Western Europe, a Scandinavian people known as the Varangians crossed the Baltic Sea and landed in Eastern Europe. The leader of the Varangians was the semi legendary warrior Rurik, who led his people in 862 to the city of Novgorod on the Volkhov River. Whether Rurik took the city by force or was invited to rule there, he certainly invested the city. From Novgorod, Rurik's successor Oleg extended the power of the city southward. In 882, he gained control of Kiev, a Slavic city that had arisen along the Dnepr River around the 5th century. Oleg's attainment of rule over Kiev marked the first establishment of a unified, dynastic state in the region. Kiev became the center of a trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, and Kievan Rus', as the empire came to be known, flourished for the next three hundred years.
The Varangians or Varyags sometimes referred to as Variagians, were Vikings or Norsemen, who went eastwards and southwards through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine mainly in the 9th and 10th centuries. According to the Kievan Rus' Primary Chronicle, compiled in about 1113, groups of Varangians included the Swedes, the Rus, the Normans, the Angles and the Gotlanders. However, due largely to geographic considerations, most of the Varangians who traveled and settled in the eastern Baltic, Russia and lands to the south came from the area of modern Sweden.
Engaging in trade, piracy and mercenary activities, they roamed the river systems and portages of Gardariki, reaching the Caspian Sea and Constantinople. Having settled Aldeigja (Ladoga) in the 750's, Scandinavian colonists were probably an element in the early ethnogenesis of the Rus' people, and likely played a role in the formation of the Rus' Khaganate. The Varangians (Varyags, in Old East Slavic) are first mentioned by the Primary Chronicle as having exacted tribute from the Slavic and Finnic tribes in 859. It was the time of rapid expansion of the Vikings in Northern Europe; England began to pay Danegeld in 859, and the Curonians of Grobin faced an invasion by the Swedes at about the same date.
According to the Primary Chronicle, in 862, the Finnic and Slavic tribes rebelled against the Varangian Rus, driving them overseas back to Scandinavia, but soon started to conflict with each other. The disorder prompted the tribes to invite back the Varangian Rus "to come and rule them" and bring peace to the region. Led by Rurik and his brothers Truvor and Sineus, the invited Varangians (called Rus) settled around the town of Holmgård (Novgorod). In the 9th century, the Rus' operated the Volga trade route, which connected Northern Russia (Gardariki) with the Middle East (Serkland). As the Volga route declined by the end of the century, the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks rapidly overtook it in popularity. Apart from Ladoga and Novgorod, Gnezdovo and Gotland were major centers for Varangian trade.
Western historians tend to agree with the Primary Chronicle that these Varangians organized the existing Slavic settlements into the political entity of Kievan Rus'in the 880s and gave their name to the land. Many Slavic scholars are opposed to this theory of Germanic influence on the Rus and have suggested alternative scenarios for this part of Eastern European history because the author of the Primary Chronicles, that is a monk named Nestor, worked in the court for the Varangians.
In contrast to the intense Scandinavian influence in Normandy and the British Isles, Varangian culture did not survive to a great extent in the East. Instead, the Varangian ruling classes of the two powerful city-states of Novgorod and Kiev were thoroughly Slavic by the end of the 10th century. Old Norse was spoken in one district of Novgorod, however, until the thirteenth century.
According to the earliest East Slavic record, the Primary Chronicle, the four tribes who had been forced to pay tribute to the Varangians — Chuds, Slavs, Merians, and Krivichs drove the Varangians back beyond the sea, refused to pay them further tribute, and set out to govern themselves. But there was no law among them, and tribe rose against tribe. Discord thus ensued among them, and they began to war one against the other. They said to themselves, "Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and judge us according to custom. Thus they went overseas to the Varangians, to the Rus. These particular Varangians were known as Rus, just as some are called Swedes, and o |
Native American Legends
The Daughter of the Sun
A Cherokee Legend
The Sun lived on the other side of the sky vault, but her daughter
lived in the middle of the sky, directly above the Earth, and every
day as | Native American Legends
The Daughter of the Sun
A Cherokee Legend
The Sun lived on the other side of the sky vault, but her daughter
lived in the middle of the sky, directly above the Earth, and every
day as the Sun was climbing along the sky arch to the west she used
to stop at her daughter's house for dinner.
Now, the Sun hated the people on the Earth, because they could
never look straight at her without screwing up their faces. She
said to her brother, the Moon, "My grandchildren are ugly;
they grin all over their faces when they look at me." But the
Moon said, "I like my younger brothers; I think they are very
handsome "--because they always smiled pleasantly when they
saw him in the sky at night, for his rays were milder.
The Sun was jealous and planned to kill all the people, so every
day when she got near her daughter's house she sent down such sultry
rays that there was a great fever and the people died by hundreds,
until everyone had lost some friend and there was fear that no one
would be left. They went for help to the Little Men, who said the
only way to save themselves was to kill the Sun.
The Little Men made medicine and changed two men to snakes, the
Spreading-adder and the Copperhead, and sent them to watch near
the door of the daughter of the Sun to bite the old Sun when she
came next day. They went together and bid near the house until the
Sun came, but when the Spreading-adder was about to spring, the
bright light blinded him and he could only spit out yellow slime,
as he does to this day when he tries to bite. She called him a nasty
thing and went by into the house, and the Copperhead crawled off
without trying to do anything.
So the people still died from the heat, and they went to the Little
Men a second time for help. The Little Men made medicine again and
changed one man into the great Uktena and another into the Rattlesnake
and sent them to watch near the house and kill the old Sun when
she came for dinner.
They made the Uktena very large, with horns on his head, and everyone
thought he would be sure to do the work, but the Rattlesnake was
so quick and eager that he got ahead and coiled up just outside
the house, and when the Sun's daughter opened the door to look out
for her mother, he sprang up and bit her and she fell dead in the
doorway. He forgot to wait for the old Sun, but went back to the
people, and the Uktena was so very angry that he went back, too.
Since then we pray to the rattlesnake and do not kill him, because
he is kind and never tries to bite if we do not disturb him. The
Uktena grew angrier all the time and very dangerous, so that if
he even looked at a man, that man's family would die. After a long
time the people held a council and decided that he was too dangerous
to be with them, so they sent him up to Gälûñ'lätï,
and he is there now. The Spreading-adder, the Copperhead, the Rattlesnake,
and the Uktena were all men.
When the Sun found her daughter dead, she went into the house and
grieved, and the people did not die any more, but now the world
was dark all the time, because the Sun would not come out. They
went again to the Little Men, and these told them that if they wanted
the Sun to come out again they must bring back her daughter from
Tsûsginâ'ï, the Ghost country, in Us'ûñhi'yï,
the Darkening land in the west. They chose seven men to go, and
gave each a sour-wood rod a hand-breadth long.
The Little Men told them they must take a box with them, and when
they got to Tsûsginâ'ï they would find all the
ghosts at a dance. They must stand outside the circle, and when
the young woman passed in the dance they must strike her with the
rods and she would fall to the ground. Then they must put her into
the box and bring her back to her mother, but they must be very
sure not to open the box, even a little way, until they were home
They took the rods and a box and traveled seven days to the west
until they came to the Darkening land. There were a great many people
there, and they were having a dance just as if they were at home
in the settlements. The young woman was in the outside circle, and
as she swung around to where the seven men were standing, one struck
her with his rod and she turned h |
Sep. 15, 2009 Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that fake video evidence can dramatically alter people's perceptions of events, even convincing them to testify as an eyewitness to an event that never happened.
Associate Professor Dr Kimberley | Sep. 15, 2009 Researchers at the University of Warwick have found that fake video evidence can dramatically alter people's perceptions of events, even convincing them to testify as an eyewitness to an event that never happened.
Associate Professor Dr Kimberley Wade from the Department of Psychology led an experiment to see whether exposure to fabricated footage of an event could induce individuals to accuse another person of doing something they never did.
In the study, published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Dr Wade found that almost 50% of people shown fake footage of an event they witnessed first hand were prepared to believe the video version rather than what they actually saw.
Dr Wade’s research team filmed 60 subjects as they took part in a computerised gambling task. The subjects were unknowingly seated next to a member of the research team as they both separately answered a series of multiple-choice general knowledge questions.
All subjects were given a pile of fake money to gamble with and they shared a pile of money that represented the bank. Their task was to earn as much money as possible by typing in an amount of money to gamble on the chances of them answering each question correctly. They were told the person who made the highest profit would win a prize.
When they answered each question, subjects saw either a green tick on their computer monitor to show their answer was correct, or a red cross to show it was incorrect. If the answer was wrong, they would be told to return the money to the bank.
After the session, the video footage was doctored to make it look as if the member of the research team sat next to the subject was cheating by not putting money back into the bank.
One third of the subjects were told that the person sat next to them was suspected of cheating. Another third were told the person had been caught on camera cheating, and the remaining group were actually shown the fake video footage. All subjects were then asked to sign a statement only if they had seen the cheating take place.
Nearly 40% of the participants who had seen the doctored video complied. Another 10% of the group signed when asked a second time by the researchers. Only 10% of those who were told the incident had been caught on film but were not shown the video agreed to sign, and about 5% of the control group who were just told about the cheating signed the statement.
Dr Wade said: “Over the previous decade we have seen rapid advances in digital-manipulation technology. As a re |
|Digital-Desert : Mojave Desert||
== REAL DESERT ==
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Petroglyphs - Geoglyphs -
Colorado River -
Topock Maze / Mystic MazeHere, upon this land where you now stand, is the Topock Maze; indeed, a cultural site of much importance to the tribe. To this site the Aha Makav warriors returning home from battle first paused for purification before continuing home."
Not a true maze, this site is a series of windrows carefully placed in an extensive geometric pattern. Today, the site covers about 10 acres. Evidence suggests that it may have originally been only one section in a group of nearby earth images and features. Sadly, important parts of the complex were destroyed by the construction of the highway. But whether or not the geoglyphs in this vicinity were associated with one another, this was clearly an area of symbolic and ritual significance.
This is the Mystic Maze or Topock Maze (D.G. Thompson, 1929:517 and plate 30; Haenszel, 1978). “The maze has always been here” are key words to remember when viewing the maze. The river narrows were first called Red Rock (after the red upper plate Miocene sediments), then named Mellen (Mendenhall, 1909) after a river boat captain, and finally Topock (Thompson, 1921). The Topock Maze consists of three components. A curvilinear 100´ x 60´ anthropomorphic figure was destroyed by construction of the California Southern/Atlantic and Pacific/Santa Fe Red Rock cantilever bridge in 1888 (Myrick, 1963) during rip-rap collection for berm and roadbed for tracks laid in 1893. A curvilinear “eye” figure (from “hook and eye”) remains intact. The other component of the maze consists of parallel gravel windrows. Dark vanished desert pavement on terrace lobes is covered with windrows that stop before the margin of the terrace and rarely cover all of the terrace surface area. These geometric rectilinear windrows are referred to as the “maze,” but the ends of windrows are not closed except where they approach other windrows. The rows do not follow contours, but transgress slopes and surfaces (Haenszel, 1978). Another “maze” occurs at Topock on the Arizona side of the river. “In 1932 I flew over…the maze…on the California side…and a smaller maze on the Arizona side near the railroad bridge. The latter had been made by scrapers when the bridge was built…” (Woodward, p. 28 in Haenszel, 1978).
Both curvilinear figures associated with the Mystic Maze are similar to other ground figures on terraces along the lower Colorado River. However, no other examples of parallel windrows of proven aboriginal origin are known (Haenszel, 1978). The use of Mohave Indian labor to scrape desert pavement gravel into rows to be collected for construction of bridge abutments, berms, and road grade is well documented (Haenszel, 1978). Interviews with Mohave Indians indicate that the maze (windrows) was not used by the Mohave tribe, but was made by the “Old Ones” (Thompson, 1929; Haenszel, 1978). Haenszel (1978) notes that windrows were probably made by scraping or raking desert pavement. However, she presents documentation from observers that the maze was present in 1886, prior to construction of the Red Rock cantilever bridge. Haenszel relies heavily on Mohave statements that the maze was in place prior to their arrival (A. D. 1200), although used for religious purposes by the Mohaves.
Questions arise: Were the Mohaves referring to the intaglios or to the windrows? The windrows avoid the curvilinear figures. Did Mohave laborers avoid the intaglios for religious reasons? Amassing gravel in windrows over 18 acres involves a great deal of effort. Who paid for this labor and why was the gravel not collected or used? Historic photographs (Pl. 30-B, Thompson, 1929; photos from 1897, 1922, 1931 in Haenszel, 1978) show gravel rows as steep-sided ridges. Today, they are deflated to low, rounded rows. If rows were steep-walled in 1897 and almost flat in 2007, this author (RER) suggests that the rate of deflation is finite, and doesn’t allow for construction of windrows prior to the mid nineteenth century. Read the archaeological description by the Mohave Nation mounted at the viewpoint. Examine the low, parallel gravel rows. Look for black desert varnish (upper surface) and red oxide (under surface) that indicate the cobbles were disturbed.
Wild, scenic & rapid - R. E. Reynolds, James Faulds, P. Kyle House, Keith Howard, Daniel Malmon, Calvin F. Miller, and Philip A. Pearthree |
Greek Mythology is an extensive body of often-contradictory narratives (often because there was no unified Greek culture until the Romans conquered the region), dominated by heroes, deities, and monsters. These myths document aspects of the ancient Greek religion | Greek Mythology is an extensive body of often-contradictory narratives (often because there was no unified Greek culture until the Romans conquered the region), dominated by heroes, deities, and monsters. These myths document aspects of the ancient Greek religion and provide one of the earliest bases of literature. Though most accounts were passed down through the oral-tradition, Greek mythology as it is understood today derives from the written works of such authors as the Greek writer Hesiod, the Roman poet Ovid, the Greek playwright Sophocles, and the Greek poet(s) Homer. Such creatures as the cyclops, satyrs, and centaurs have their origins in Greek myth.
A Greek myth is not to be confused with Carol Kane.
- The StoryTeller: Greek Myths featured realistic adaptations of four Greek myths, incorporating such figures as Icarus, Medusa, and the Minotaur. The frame sequences involved The Storyteller and Dog trapped in the labyrinth of Minos, as first introduced in Homer's Illiad.
- The 1997 Creature Shop production The Odyssey was a two-hour adaptation of the Homeric epic, featuring a Cyclops and other creatures supplied by the Creature Shop.
- In the Muppet Babies episode "Babes in Troyland," the babies explore the world of Greek Myths. Piggy in particular is taken by Helen of Troy.
- Muppet Classic Theater featured a version of the myth of King Midas, with Kermit as Midas, Miss Piggy as his wife, and Gonzo as a satyr in place of the God Dionysus. This may reflect a later Midas legend, in which the king, having rejected gold, has become a devout follower of Pan,
- In another Muppets Tonight sketch, "Murder on the Disoriented Express," several characters confuse Hercule Poirot (guest star Jason Alexander) with Hercules, the legendary demigod and son of Zeus.
- The titan Atlas, who holds the world on his shoulders, has been referenced in multiple print materials and a Sesame Street sketch.
- Although of Greek origin, a Cyclops is encountered by Sinbad the Sailor (Grover) in Scheherryzade and the Arabian Nights, a story based on Arabian literature.
- Charlene Sinclair is visited by a Muse in a third season Dinosaurs episode, "Charlene's Flat World". The incompetent Muse tells Charlene that the world is round -- an epiphany which was supposed to occur to Copernicus in 16th century Poland.
- In a segment of Abby's Flying Fairy School, Pandora's Lunchbox is opened, releasing giant magical snacks that wreak havoc.
- In a segment of Abby's Flying Fairy School, Morty the Musical Muse visits the class. In Greek mythology, the Muses are goddesses who inspire artistic works. |
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